Phases of the Moon
by Elle917
Summary: It seemed almost inevitable, and looking back, maybe it was. When a sudden wave of Hollows attacks Karakura Town, Yuzu and Karin's lives change forever. The two of them must now get through the Shinigami Academy, and all it entails. HitsuKarin. IchiRuki. (Started out as Karin-centric, but became weighted towards Yuzu by the end).
1. One cold night

**A/N: **I haven't watched Bleach in a LONG, LONG time, so forgive any inaccuracies. Just couldn't get this idea out of my head. This is set a couple of years after current events in the series, with Yuzu and Karin about fifteen-ish.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

She hadn't even felt it.

She remembered looking up from the ground where she had been thrown, her eyes widening in terror as she saw the Hollow turn around and bear down on her sister—her _sister_, who couldn't see the thing but could damn well feel it, and was standing still underneath the streetlight, her head moving this way and that as she looked around and tried to catch a glimpse of the thing that she knew wanted to kill her. At that time, she could almost taste Yuzu's fear. Or maybe it was her own fear that left that metallic taste in her mouth. It tasted almost like blood. Her heart pounded so loud that she could hear it, adrenaline flooding her body.

Ichigo and the other shinigami were on the other side of town, dealing with a spike in activity. At least, that was what Toshiro had told her when she bumped into him on the way from school. She knew something was up when she saw him standing there in full shinigami gear, one hand on Hyourinmaru's hilt and the wind moving through his captain's haori. That conversation flashed through her mind in an instant as her eyes fixed on the Hollow.

"_Must be pretty bad, if they sent you out here." _

"_It's not good. The stronger ones are concentrated downtown. I'm on my way there myself." _

"…_Should I be worried?" _

"_We're doing all we can to keep the stronger ones from slipping through. This sort of thing hasn't happened since the Winter War." _He ran a hand through his white hair, then let out a sigh. The young captain turned and fixed Karin with cool green eyes. _"Where's your sister?" _

That was when she first felt it, the sudden cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Until then, she had been talking out of the corner of her mouth, trying to avoid looking like a crazy person to anyone that happened to be passing by. Now, she turned towards him fully.

"_At the clinic. It's her shift today. Why?" _

"_Take her and head to Urahara's." _

"_My brother? What about my dad?" _she asked. Ichigo would have told her if it was that bad. Or he would have already taken Yuzu somewhere safe and would be looking for her now. The same went for Isshin. She checked her phone, just in case one of them had left her a message, but there was nothing.

"_Kurosaki might not know the extent of the situation yet. We still haven't made contact with him. He and your father left earlier to handle it." _Toshiro turned to look at her. _"Go." _It wasn't a suggestion.

Karin nodded once, gulped down a breath of air, and sped down the street as fast as she could. She didn't argue about how bad it might have been, because even though she didn't know everything about shinigami that her brother did, she did know one thing. They weren't stupid, and they wouldn't send a captain out into the city if it wasn't that bad. Not with her brother and his friends in town.

But by the time she arrived home, she had found this situation.

Her sister, standing outside the clinic to see a patient off as a Hollow loomed over her…

That was about twenty minutes ago, and she was breathing hard, bleeding from a gash the Hollow had opened up down her arm. She jumped up and ran as fast as she could, the skirt of her high school uniform flaring up behind her and making her wish she had changed into her soccer outfit before coming home today. She didn't think, her blood running cold in her veins.

She called out her sister's name and jumped, reaching out and grabbing her just as the Hollow swiped downward with one claw.

Looking back, Karin remembered a shattering noise, and feeling suddenly much lighter, before she and Yuzu both tumbled to the ground. The pain in her arm vanished, as did the bruises, both replaced by a sudden floating feeling, which was replaced again by pain as she and Yuzu tumbled. She remembered hearing the sound of something dropping behind her, and vaguely realized that _that _couldn't mean anything good, before Yuzu started shaking.

Looking down at her sister, Karin suddenly realized why.

Yuzu could see the Hollow.

Clearly.

And while all Hollows tended towards the ugly side of things, this one was particularly terrifying.

"Shit."

There wasn't enough time to question why Yuzu could suddenly see the Hollow straight on. Not when it could obviously see them, and was looking at them like it was trying to decide whether they were better boiled or fried. Karin jumped to her feet, grabbing Yuzu by the arm.

Urahara's.

"Come on!" she said, pulling her sister up and dragging her into a run. Yuzu let out a squeak as she stumbled, but quickly righted herself and followed along behind Karin. The Hollow gave chase, but if Karin could be thankful for anything, it was that it wasn't faster than her. She gulped down a large breath of air, feeling her lungs burn as the Hollow closed in. Panic welled up inside her and she turned her head, letting out a loud shout as she extended her hand and tried to push as much reiatsu out of it as she could, the same thing she had first done with her soccer ball.

Blue light flared out from her hand, surprising even her. It slammed into the Hollow and threw it back into a wall, and as the light sizzled and dissolved into sparks, Karin tugged on Yuzu's arm and dragged her down the street, her eyes wide.

That was so much stronger than anything she had been able to accomplish before.

And she _really _didn't like where this was going.

Karin took a deep breath and looked down at Yuzu. Her sister ran beside her, her eyes closed and her breathing coming in heavy pants. Yuzu wasn't used to this much physical activity, but that wasn't what drew Karin's attention.

It was on her chest, clamped on over her school uniform. A chain.

One that had been cut just below the sixth link.

Karin spared a glance at her own chest, noticing a similar chain. They were dead.

Just perfect.

She knew she should have been more distressed by this, but Yuzu's wrist beneath her hand was still very solid and real, and the Hollow chasing them was even more real.

And if they didn't keep moving, they would be dead again very soon.

"K-Karin-chan!" panted Yuzu suddenly, skidding to a stop.

Karin nearly fell over. Her eyes narrowed as she straightened up, watching as a second Hollow stepped out from around a darkened corner, sniffing the air before turning its masked head towards them. She tensed, stepping in front of Yuzu and spreading her arms as the Hollow turned. Her heart beat erratically in her chest, and her hair clung to her forehead with sweat.

She promised to find whoever told her that death was peaceful and kick him in the groin, if she made it out of this alive. And yes, she saw the irony in that statement.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

A flurry what looked like pink sakura petals erupted from one of the rooftops, swarming around the Hollow and slashing it to ribbons. Karin's eyes widened as the remains of the Hollow disappeared, and a shinigami jumped down from the roof. Like Toshiro, he wore a captain's haori, with the character for six on the back. He was tall, with dark hair and cool gray eyes, and as he swung his hand around, the flower petals followed it, slashing through the Hollow behind them before coming back to his hand and reforming into a sword. He lowered it and eyed them coolly, disdain evident in his expression.

The shinigami stepped forward towards her and Yuzu, turning his sword around to expose the hilt. Karin's eyes widened when she realized what he meant to do.

"No!" she said. "Don't!"

He ignored her, continuing to walk. "Wait!" said Karin. He didn't respond.

"Our brother's a shinigami! So stop!"

That made him pause for a moment. He looked over her and Yuzu, who was standing behind her, her hands gripping Karin's arm tightly. Then, he frowned at them.

"What is your name?" he asked.

Karin drew herself up to her full height, meeting the shinigami's piercing stare head on. "…Kurosaki Karin," she said. She paused for a moment. "Who are you?"

The shinigami stared at her for a moment, meeting her eyes. Then, he lowered his sword. She wasn't sure, because there was very little emotion in his expression, but she thought he seemed surprised. "Kuchiki Byakuya," he said.

Her eyes widened, and Yuzu's grip around her arm loosened.

"Ku…chiki?" repeated Yuzu, frowning at him.

Byakuya ignored her. "There is a shop further down the road from—."

"Urahara's," said Karin, interrupting him. Byakuya stopped, raising an eyebrow at her. "We know," she said.

"Go," said Byakuya in reply, stepping away from her and walking down the street. Karin nodded, tugging on Yuzu's arm. That was all the encouragement her sister needed to start running again. They had barely gone a few feet when she heard a shout.

"Karin!" called her father.

"Yuzu!" shouted Ichigo.

The two shinigami rounded the corner, running towards them. Yuzu quickly pulled herself out of Karin's grip, running to their brother. "Ichi-nii!" she shouted as she ran. Behind them, Byakuya stopped, turning his head to study the reunion with practiced indifference. Ichigo placed his hands on Yuzu's shoulders. He was bleeding from a gash down his chest, and his face was splattered with blood. His eyes widened as he saw the chain on her chest. Isshin noticed it too. He stopped behind his son, his eyes flicking over his daughters and an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.

Ichigo tore his eyes away from Yuzu, and looked up at Karin in stunned silence. She looked back at him as Yuzu frowned, apparently still processing the situation.

"…Ichi-nii?" asked Yuzu. He said nothing.

"Ichigo," said Isshin, breaking the silence. "…Get your sisters inside the shop."

Ichigo's eyes widened and he turned towards him. "Dad, they're—!"

"I know," said Isshin, cutting him off. "Do you want them to get eaten too?" He faced Ichigo, as if challenging him. Ichigo met Isshin's eyes for a moment, before taking a deep breath and nodding.

He slung an arm around Yuzu and pulled her to him, then walked forward and did the same to Karin. The world suddenly flashed by at the speed of light, coming into focus for a few moments at a time before disappearing again. Once, high in the air. A second time, at the street corner.

By the third time, they were standing outside the Urahara Shop. Ichigo threw open the sliding door almost angrily, putting his sisters down once they were inside. Urahara looked up from his seat, looking them over as Yuzu scrambled up, sitting on her heels. Karin didn't bother, dropping down and crossing her legs as Ichigo strode past them, slamming the sliding door shut.

"Well," said Urahara, "It looks like we have a situation."

"You _think_?" asked Ichigo, his voice angry.

"What?" asked Yuzu, a concerned expression on her face as she looked around. "…What's going on?"

Karin sighed as a silence fell over the room. She took a deep breath. "…We're dead, Yuzu," she said.

Yuzu's eyes widened. "What?" she asked, her voice getting slightly panicked. "But how can that be? We're here!"

"We're spirits," said Karin, reaching forward and picking up Yuzu's chain to show her. Her sister stared at it like it was some sort of alien. "See?"

"It probably happened quickly enough that you didn't even feel it," said Urahara, uncrossing his legs and covering his mouth with his fan. "It's fairly common~"

"Don't sound so happy about it!" shouted Ichigo, slamming his fist down onto Urahara's table. The tea cups on the table jumped. Yuzu jumped as well, backing up. Karin eyed her, frowning.

"…Ichi-nii," she said.

Ichigo glanced at Karin, who inclined her head towards Yuzu slightly. The oldest Kurosaki took a deep breath and sat down, turning towards his sister.

"Sorry, Yuzu," he said. He pulled her into a hug, and Yuzu collapsed onto his chest. Vaguely, Karin thought that she might need a hug too, but she put that aside for a moment and looked up at Urahara. "So, what happens now?" she asked.

"One of two things," said Urahara. "You could allow me to perform _konso _and send you to Rukongai."

Ichigo snorted, looking up from where he was holding on to Yuzu. "Fat chance," he said.

"Or you could allow one of the shinigami to take you through the gate into Seireitei," finished the former shinigami. "Considering your heritage, the both of you should have no problem getting into the Shino Academy, if you want. Or you could live in a safer district of Rukongai." He paused as a tense silence filled the room at his words. Then, he looked up. "Tea?~"

A bowl flew through the air, hitting Urahara square in the forehead. "Learn to read the mood, damn it!" shouted Ichigo.

"Either way, you both end up in Soul Society," continued Urahara, rubbing at the red mark on his forehead.

"…Can't we stay here?" asked Karin, frowning.

"I wouldn't advise it," said Urahara. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the two of you are excellent Hollow meals right now. What with your family's abnormally high spiritual power."

Karin frowned. She hadn't really noticed it, but…she remembered how it had felt earlier, when she attacked the Hollow. Ichigo turned towards her.

"We sensed your reiatsu," he said. "That's how we knew where you were."

"You'd still be able to see your family if you went through the Gate," said Urahara. "Since Ichigo's always there in any case."

She took a deep breath. All she wanted to do this afternoon was go home, change, and play some soccer. Or turn the TV on and watch a movie. She hadn't been expecting _this_. Her shoulders began to shake, and she closed her eyes, taking another deep breath.

"…I want to wait for Dad…" mumbled Yuzu, as if sensing her twin's moment of weakness. She looked up.

"They should be back soon," said Urahara, grinning. "The last I heard, they were just finishing up."

At that moment, the door opened. Karin looked up, watching as a shinigami stepped into the room. He looked at her, and his eyes widened.

"Karin," he said.

"Toshiro," she replied, giving him a flat look.

"Oho~" said the busty woman behind him, looking down at them.

She really wished people would stop looking at her like she had sprouted horns. Or, she supposed, a large broken chain growing out of her chest.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Decisions are made

**A/N: **I've come to the conclusion that this series has _way _too many characters to easily write fanfiction about it. _ Too many peeeoooppplllleee… Sorry if this scene seems a little crowded. I did my best, but I'm not that good with many people in a scene as it is. Also, Isshin, Ishida, Ichigo. I may have screwed up and mixed up any of those names with any of the others. If I did so, and you catch it, let me know.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 2: Decisions are made<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Karin," he said. <em>

"_Toshiro," she replied, giving him a flat look. _

"_Oho~" said the busty woman behind him, looking down at them. _

_She really wished people would stop looking at her like she had sprouted horns. Or, she supposed, a large broken chain growing out of her chest. _

Toshiro stared at Karin and at the chain for a moment more, before looking back up and stepping into the shop. He was bleeding, she realized—a bright spot of red blood blooming on his white captain's haori. Without a word, he dropped into the empty space on her other side, sitting down. Karin followed him with her eyes, her eyebrow twitching when he sat next to her.

"That's _it_?" she asked, turning towards him. "You're not even gonna say anything to me?"

"What do you want me to say?" asked Toshiro, looking up at her. "My greatest sympathies?" He shook his head, as if he was still processing everything. "What _happened_?"

"What the hell do you _think _happened?" asked Karin. "I went to get Yuzu. I was too late."

"That doesn't explain why you're _dead_," retorted Toshiro, his green eyes narrowing at her as he folded his arms.

"_Taicho, _who's this?" asked the orange-haired shinigami with a frown, leaning over the table top and propping her head up on her hand as she looked at Karin.

"Kurosaki Karin," replied Toshiro, not turning around.

"Kurosaki?" asked the woman, looking up at Karin.

"Kurosaki Ichigo's younger sister," clarified Toshiro.

"Hold on a second," said Ichigo, turning to face them. He released Yuzu from the hug, although he didn't move away from her. "You two know each other?" The white-haired Captain gave Ichigo a flat look.

"We've met," he said.

"—a few times," added Karin.

"The hell?" asked Ichigo. "How many other shinigami do you know?"

"You. Dad. Rukia-nee. This guy—," She pointed at Urahara. "And the red pineapple." She frowned, as if remembering something. "…Oh, and Zenno…what's his face."

"Zennosuke," supplied Toshiro. "Kuramadani Zennosuke."

Karin shrugged. "Afro-san."

"This guy?" asked Urahara with a frown, pointing at himself.

"Shinigami…?" repeated Yuzu, frowning at them. "…What's a shinigami? And what was that thing from earlier?"

"Hmm…?" asked Urahara, turning towards Ichigo. "You haven't told Yuzu-chan anything?"

"Of course not," said Ichigo, a faint amount of bitterness in his voice.

"We didn't want her getting involved," said Karin.

Yuzu looked up at Karin at that. "Karin-chan…"

Karin shook her head. "It was bad enough that I could see them," she said.

"But what's going on?" asked Yuzu. "And what does that have to do with Dad, Rukia-nee and Ichi-nii?" She paused, looking at them. "…That man said his name was Kuchiki."

"Aa," said Ichigo. "That was Byakuya. Rukia's brother."

"Rukia-nee had a brother?" asked Yuzu. Karin looked up at them.

"If _that's _her brother, I know why she's always at our place," she said.

"I don't remember allowing you to call me by my given name," said Byakuya, coolly stepping into the room. Rukia walked behind him, also dressed in her shinigami robes. The older Kuchiki glanced disapprovingly at Karin once, before taking his seat. Rukia glanced between Karin and Yuzu. She didn't seem surprised. Evidently, she had already heard the news. She walked over to Ichigo, sitting down.

"…I'm sorry," she said.

The two of them exchanged a look, before Rukia turned towards Karin and Yuzu. "How are you feeling?"

"As good as a dead person can feel, I guess," muttered Karin, slumping over the table.

"I-I'm alright," said Yuzu. "Just…confused. I don't know what's going on."

"Where's the old man?" asked Ichigo.

"Isshin-san went to the clinic. Orihime and Ishida went with him."

"Chad?"

"Making sure there aren't any left," said Rukia. She turned towards Yuzu. "I'll explain it to you," she said.

"Tell me you don't have your sketchbook in there," muttered Ichigo as Rukia turned towards his sister. Rukia shot him a dark look and began to explain the situation. It wasn't anything Karin hadn't heard before—shinigami, Soul Society, the truth about her father and brother. She leaned over the table and propped her head up, listening as Yuzu asked questions. She suddenly felt drained. She knew that she should have been freaking out, but she had just finished running for her life. She felt numb. Empty. Hollow.

Scratch that last word. She really didn't want to think about _that_.

On one hand, it wasn't really a big deal. She was half-shinigami, and it wasn't as if she wouldn't be able to see her brother. It was almost _better _like this, since neither her father or brother would age normally anyway—her dad because he was technically in a _gigai_, and her brother because the sandal-hat-man thought his body would age independently from his spirit at this point. So maybe it was a good thing that she and Yuzu didn't get a chance to out-age them.

But there was so much she was still looking forward to about this world. The soccer tournament in a month, getting through high school, graduating…Heck, she had only _been_ a high school student for about a couple of months.

And if she and Yuzu became shinigami…

She could fight, but…She glanced up at her sister, listening as they wrapped up their questions. She really couldn't imagine _Yuzu _with any sort of weapon in her hands.

"I can't believe you kept something like this from me," said Yuzu as they finished, looking at Ichigo and Karin.

"We didn't think something like _this _would ever happen," said Ichigo.

"But still…" said Yuzu. She lowered her eyes, looking down at her hands. "…So we're going to Soul Society?"

Rukia nodded. "It's the best place for you at this point. You can come back through the gates with us. I believe…the entrance exams for the Shino Academy begin in about two months."

Karin raised an eyebrow. Rukia turned towards her. "The Shino Academy has a different timetable from Japanese high schools," she said. "It opens in the fall." [1]

"Who says we want to be shinigami?" asked Karin, frowning. "I mean, I do, but Yuzu…"

Yuzu shook her head. "I want to," she said.

Karin looked up at her.

"…If we become shinigami, we can come back here, right?" asked Yuzu. "And we can visit our friends."

"That, of course, would depend on your future captain," commented Byakuya. He had been silent until now, and the sound of his voice startled them.

"Any recommendations?" asked Karin, dryly.

"Don't join Twelfth," said Ichigo.

Urahara coughed behind his fan, but said nothing. The door to the shop slid open again, admitting Isshin and Ishida. The former carried a semi-conscious Orihime on his back. Ichigo and Rukia jumped up, helping to lay her down on the shop floor.

"What happened?" asked Rukia.

"As soon as she saw the bodies, she tried to heal them," said Isshin, stepping away from her.

"It didn't work, as the souls are not present, and it backfired on her," finished Ishida, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "She should be fine with some rest." Isshin walked over to Karin and Yuzu, pulling them both into a crushing hug.

"Well," he said, "It looks like I'm going to have a hard time explaining this to the neighbors."

He was joking, as always, but there was sadness in his voice, and his smile was grieved. Karin swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to hold back tears as Ichigo stepped over to them and was pulled into the huddle. She choked, and Yuzu started crying. Karin took a deep breath and pushed away from her father, rubbing at her eyes with her sleeves.

"You could always say it was a mass-murderer with a chainsaw," she said, turning away from them as her voice quavered. She made a promise once. She wasn't going to cry. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Like the killer from that movie…" said Yuzu, sniffling and wiping at her eyes as she cracked a small smile.

"That might be fun," said Isshin, placing one hand on each of their heads and ruffling their hair. "But Orihime-chan completely healed the bodies. That'll be hard to explain." He paused, considering that. "Uryuu-kun?"

"Yes?" asked Ishida, looking up.

"Does Ryuken still do autopsies?"

Ishida stiffened. "I haven't the slightest idea what that man does with his life," he said.

"Hmm…" said Isshin, rubbing his chin. Karin glanced up at him and tensed. She knew that look. He had some sort of hare-brained scheme running through his head.

"Oi," she said. "We're not gonna come back to find out we're the main characters of a horror story, are we?" she asked.

"I didn't say anything," said Isshin, giving her a small grin. Ichigo and Karin folded their arms, glaring at him.

"I'll keep an eye on him," promised Ichigo.

Karin nodded in response. "Please."

"Anyway," said Isshin, "Urahara-san, how long do we have until we need to start playing the bereaved father and brother?"

"Oh, I'd say two hours~" said Urahara. "You were out making a house call, and took your son for back-up."

"Sounds good," said Isshin, grinning. "So I have enough time to see my girls off?"

"Plenty of time, if you hurry," said Urahara.

Isshin nodded, standing up. He placed one hand on Karin's shoulder and the other on Yuzu's, and the two of them got to their feet. "Let's not waste any more time, then."

Ichigo nodded, standing up as well. Byakuya got up. "I will open the gate," he said. "Hitsugaya-taicho."

Toshiro looked up at Byakuya and nodded. "Matsumoto and I will wait for Sado to return."

Byakuya nodded back and drew his sword, thrusting it into the air. As Karin watched, a door formed, sliding open. Four black butterflies floated out of it, one hovering around Byakuya, the second around Rukia, and the other two heading towards Ichigo and Isshin. Byakuya frowned, glancing at them.

"Hold on to them and don't get separated," he said.

Ichigo nodded, slinging his arm around Karin while Isshin held on to Yuzu. Karin looked up at her brother.

"Don't let go of me," said Ichigo. "If we get separated, you'll end up in the Dangai."

Karin nodded, grabbing onto Ichigo's shihakusho firmly. The gate opened fully, and Byakuya turned, nodding at them. He stepped inside, and the other shinigami followed. The gate to the tunnel closed, leaving them in darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED

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><p>[1] Did this purely to make the timetable work, since I didn't want Yuzu and Karin to hang out in Soul Society doing nothing for a year.<p> 


	3. The Kuchiki Clan

**A/N: **Byakuya and Rukia have weird ways of caring for one another, as you can see in this chapter. And what's going on with Ichigo. Hmm…I wonder.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 3: The Kuchiki Clan<strong>

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><p>The gate opened. Byakuya stepped out of it first, his long white scarf swishing behind him as he walked. Rukia followed him, looking around. Her eyes widened. "Nii-sama," she said. "This is…"<p>

Byakuya nodded in reply, not turning to look at her. Behind him, Ichigo stepped out of the gate, dragging Karin with him. Isshin followed, pulling Yuzu out just as the door closed. The two girls looked around, wide-eyed. They were standing at the center of some sort of courtyard. Paths led from a wide pair of gates behind them to a large Japanese-style mansion. It looked like one of the castles Karin had seen during a field trip. She looked down at herself, noticing that she was still in her school uniform, but the chain on her chest was gone. Ichigo turned towards her and followed her line of sight. She looked up at him, noticing that there was worry etched on her older brother's face.

"Karin," he said. "Do you remember me?"

She frowned. "Of course I do, Ichi-nii," she said. "Why wouldn't I?"

He let out a sigh of relief. Behind him, Isshin turned to Yuzu.

"How about you, Yuzu-chan?" he asked. "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course," said Yuzu, frowning. "You're my dad!"

Karin frowned, turning her head and giving Isshin a look. Rukia turned towards them.

"Souls that come here through _konso _forget their past lives," she said. "We didn't know what would happen in this case."

Ichigo frowned and released Karin, looking around as if he was noticing their surroundings for the first time. "Why are we here?" he asked.

Karin looked back at the building. There was an odd crest on the door. She wasn't really sure what to make of it. "Where are we anyway?" she asked, scratching the back of her head and going over to stand next to Yuzu, who was looking uncomfortable and uncertain. She grabbed her sister's wrist and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and Yuzu nodded once at her, her hand curling inward over the collar of her school blouse.

"Is this Soul Society?" asked Yuzu.

"It is," said Rukia. She frowned, suddenly seeming uncomfortable. "This is…the Kuchiki Family Manor."

Yuzu and Karin exchanged glances.

"The Kuchiki…?" said Karin.

"…Family Manor?" finished Yuzu.

Byakuya, who was standing a few feet away from the group, turned towards them, his face expressionless as he looked up at them.

"The girls may stay here until the entrance examinations begin," he said. He turned to Rukia. "Take them inside and make the appropriate preparations."

Rukia nodded in response. "Will you be joining us for dinner?" she asked.

"I will not."

"Tch…" muttered Karin, clasping her hands together behind her neck. Yuzu looked up at her, and she could see the warning look in her sister's eyes. If Byakuya noticed her disrespect, he didn't comment on it. Rukia nodded and turned towards Isshin and Ichigo.

"You're welcome to come in as well, Isshin-san, Ichigo."

The two shinigami nodded, following Rukia and the twins as they walked up the steps towards the mansion. As they passed Byakuya, he turned around, facing them.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo, who was walking behind Karin, turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

"A word," said Byakuya.

"Aa," said Ichigo, nodding and walking back down the steps.

Karin and the others watched as he reached the bottom and walked over to Byakuya, before Rukia turned and motioned for them to enter the house. The sliding doors slid open smoothly, revealing an expansive entryway. Tapestries hung on the walls, and artifacts that must have cost a fortune stood on stands. The floor was smooth and wooden beneath her feet. Karin looked back at the open door behind them. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw Ichigo standing in front of Rukia's brother, a scowl plastered on his face and his arms folded.

She snorted. "If he's your brother, he shouldn't be ordering you around like that," she said, turning towards Rukia.

The shinigami shrugged her shoulders. "I already knew that nii-sama wouldn't be staying for dinner," she said. "He isn't the type to leave work undone. But I had to ask."

"Is this your house, Rukia-nee?" asked Yuzu as Isshin examined one of the vases. He poked it, and it slid off its stand, causing Karin to jump. Her father caught it before it hit the ground, setting it back on the stand and giving her a playful grin.

"Yes and no," said Rukia just as Karin turned back to listen in on the conversation. "Nii-sama is the head of the family, so technically, it's his house."

Karin looked around and frowned at Rukia. "You must be pretty important," she said.

"The Kuchiki Clan is one of the Four Great Noble Houses," said Rukia, "But please, treat me as you always have. I was only adopted into the family." She frowned and folded her arms, glancing out the window. Karin realized she was watching the conversation between their older brothers with concern. She watched for a moment before turning around, leading them down the hallway.

A servant stood in front of one of the doors, dressed in a light blue yukata. Karin hadn't even noticed her standing there until Rukia walked up to her. She had long brown hair, and gray eyes, and was carrying a tray in her hands.

"Maki," said Rukia, stopping in front of her.

The servant bowed. "What can I do for you, Rukia-sama?" she asked.

"This is Kurosaki Yuzu, and this is Kurosaki Karin," said Rukia, gesturing at the two of them. "They'll be staying here for a while. Please air out two guest rooms."

Karin opened her mouth to speak, but Yuzu beat her to it. "One…" said Yuzu.

Rukia looked up. Karin shrugged. "Yuzu and I've always shared a room."

"Just one room," said Rukia. "With two futons. And…" She looked up at them. "Have you two eaten? Are you hungry?"

Karin was about to say no, but stopped, realizing that her last meal had been at lunch today, and that felt like centuries ago. She wasn't sure she could eat though, given the circumstances.

"We haven't eaten…" she said, deciding to leave it at that.

"Isshin-san?" asked Rukia.

Isshin shook his head. "I should be getting back," he said. "I can't leave for too long, or it will look suspicious." Yuzu turned around at his words, alarmed. Karin inclined her head slightly, but she didn't turn towards him fully.

"I'll come back," he promised. "Soon."

He hugged them both again. Karin let him, this time. "Ah, Masaki, our daughters are growing up and leaving the home!" he suddenly said. "Don't bring home any boys now!"

Karin elbowed him in the gut.

Rukia blinked, then turned around slowly and back to the confused looking servant. "Send three dinner plates to my quarters," she said.

"O-Of course, Rukia-sama," said Maki.

"And Maki?" added Rukia as the servant turned to leave.

"Yes, Rukia-sama?"

Rukia frowned. "…My brother will be returning late. Cover a plate for him and place it on his desk, please."

Maki smiled at her. "Of course, Rukia-sama," she said. "Is there anything else you require?"

"Nothing at the moment."

"Then I'll take my leave." Maki bowed again, then turned and left. Isshin looked up at the door at the end of the hallway.

"They should be done by now," he said. "Come and say bye to your brother."

Karin nodded, following Isshin down the hall.

* * *

><p>Ichigo looked up as Byakuya asked to speak with him, a frown on his face. He walked down the steps, approaching the older Kuchiki. He already had some sort of idea what Byakuya was going to say, unless this was another lecture on how he should address him more formally. He folded his arms, scowling.<p>

Byakuya waited until the last of them had disappeared into the mansion before speaking.

"Have you considered the soutaicho's offer?" he asked.

"I've been thinking about it, yeah," said Ichigo. He knew it would be about this.

"Tonight's events change the situation."

Ichigo shrugged, glancing back at the house. "They don't change anything. I'm still not sure I want to do it."

"Even if accepting his offer makes it easier to watch over your sisters?"

He hated how perceptive Byakuya could be. Ichigo said nothing, staring at the house before turning back towards him. The Kuchiki hadn't moved. It was almost as if he was made of ice. Even his expression hadn't changed.

"The old man gave me a year to think it over. It's only been three months."

Byakuya arched one eyebrow delicately. "It isn't wise to keep the soutaicho waiting, Kurosaki."

"I'll figure it out," said Ichigo. "But damn it, not _tonight_." His voice was bitter as he looked at the house. How could Byakuya seriously expect him to decide something like this after his sisters had just died? He felt his fists clench. If he didn't know about Soul Society—if Yuzu and Karin hadn't gotten here safely, and if he didn't know what he knew about his own soul and how it would age, then he would have already broken down. As it was, he felt sad and angry, that he couldn't be there for them and that he wasn't able to protect them.

They shouldn't have gotten dragged into this.

Byakuya said nothing, watching him.

"Take care of them," said Ichigo, looking Byakuya in the eye. "While they're here."

Byakuya's frown deepened. "Kurosaki, please do not insult me enough as to insinuate that I would allow any harm to come to a guest of my home. I am repaying my debt."

This time, it was Ichigo's turn to give Byakuya a look. The older Kuchiki was unfazed. "My debt to you and your father," he clarified. "For taking my sister into your home."

Ichigo snorted. It was more like Rukia had forced herself on them, but he didn't say that to Byakuya. Even Ichigo knew that there was a limit to how far you could push. "Yeah," he said, "We're even."

And with that, he turned away, watching as Karin and Yuzu came back out to say goodbye.

* * *

><p>Yuzu sat on the futon in silence, her knees pulled up against her chest and her fingers curling around the fabric of the white silk yukata that Maki-san had given her to sleep in. Her head was spinning, and she wasn't sure she would be able to go to sleep. She couldn't believe that they had kept this a secret from her. That <em>all of them <em>had kept this a secret from her. Every single person in her house had known about this but her.

Karin and Rukia's voices drifted towards her from the hallway outside. Her sister stood in the door, talking to the older woman. Rukia was saying something about how she would have to go in to work the next day, but that they could come with her and meet her division, then explore Seireitei at their leisure or come back here. She would give them a tour once she could get away.

After her father and brother left, and Byakuya went off to do whatever it was he was going to do, Rukia took the two of them to her room. They talked for a little while and ate, and Karin and Rukia talked about things she didn't quite understand, and people she didn't know. They stayed there for an hour or two, before Rukia suggested that they all get some sleep, so that the servants could go to bed. Yuzu watched as the door to the hallway closed and Karin turned around, dressed in an identical white yukata. She tugged at it, a frown on her face.

"I'm supposed to wear _this _to sleep?" she muttered, coming over to sit on the other futon. Yuzu could see where she was coming from. She was sure that what she was wearing was almost pure silk. Karin shifted position and turned towards her, catching the look in her eye. Her sister immediately frowned.

"Yuzu?" asked Karin. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't tell me…" said Yuzu. "All this time. It's been three years, and you didn't say a thing."

She couldn't help the accusation that was coming into her voice. Her throat felt tight, and she could feel hot tears forming in her eyes. Karin looked as if she had been struck.

"I didn't want you to get hurt…" she said. "And Ichi-nii told me not to tell."

"I'm your _sister_," said Yuzu. "Your _twin_. And you didn't say anything."

Her eyes hardened slightly as Karin looked away. Yuzu could feel the tears in her eyes start to trickle down her cheeks. How many times had she almost lost her brother or her sister, and she would have never even known about it?

"I'm sorry…" said Karin. "…I really am. I should have told you everything. Then maybe…maybe we'd both be…"

Yuzu couldn't help it. She let out a small sob, wiping the tears away with the sleeve of the silk yukata. Karin hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pulled her sister into a hug. Yuzu felt Karin shaking, and she knew that it was taking a lot of effort for Karin to keep herself from crying. She wanted to tell her sister that it was okay, that she could cry, but she knew Karin wouldn't listen to that.

So she cried. For the both of them.

After a few moments, she pulled away, wiping at her face.

"Don't keep anything like this from me again," she said.

"I won't," said Karin. "I promise."

* * *

><p>She wasn't sure how much time had passed since then, because the room held no clock, but Yuzu thought it must have been about two hours. Karin's breathing had long since evened out from the futon beside her. Her sister had always been able to sleep after events that kept Yuzu up all night, so it didn't surprise her that she could sleep at this time. But Yuzu couldn't. There was too much going on in her head, and she wasn't sure how to make sense of it all.<p>

Finally, she took a deep breath, pushing the blanket off her and getting up. Karin rolled over in her sleep but didn't move, grabbing onto her pillow and muttering something under her breath. Yuzu stepped around her carefully, walking over to the sliding door and pushing it open. The hallway outside was dimly lit. The lamps had burned down enough that all that was left were a few flickering orange lights that allowed her to see outlines. The night was cool, and the air brushed against her skin, carrying with it the faint scent of flowers, probably from the garden she had seen on the way in.

A walk always helped her fall asleep.

She took a few steps down the hallway, making sure she remembered where their room was. The house was large enough that she knew she would get lost, and Rukia mentioned that the servants normally stopped work at a certain time of night, although they could be roused in the case of emergencies or special situations. She didn't want to bother any of them just because she couldn't find her way back to her room. It surprised her how big the house was. She still couldn't believe that Rukia-nee came from such an important family. The woman who had squeezed into Yuzu and Karin's small room…

The whisper of cloth drew Yuzu's attention and she looked up sharply, her eyes wide. Byakuya stood in the doorway of one of the rooms, regarding her coolly. He was still dressed in his uniform, his sword belted at his waist and his scarf around his neck. He must have only just arrived, but if he was tired, he didn't show it. She took a deep breath, then clasped her hands in front of her and bowed.

"A-Ano…excuse me…Kuchiki-dono,"

Yuzu thought she saw something like surprise flicker in his eyes for a moment. They widened almost imperceptibly, and he raised an eyebrow. He said nothing for a long moment, studying her. She frowned slightly. Why would he be surprised? Was that not how he wanted to be addressed? She knew from her classes that that was how nobles were addressed in the past. Maybe the same thing didn't apply in Soul Society.

Or maybe…

She thought back to what little she had seen of him, and the looks he had given each of her family members in turn as they messed up his name. Karin's snide remark at Urahara's shop, Ichigo calling him 'Byakuya', and even her father leaving earlier with a casual "See you, Kuchiki."

Maybe it wasn't the fact that she had addressed him wrongly that surprised him, but that someone in the Kurosaki family had actually addressed him _correctly_.

The thought almost made her giggle, but she held it back.

"…Are you lost?" he asked, after a while.

She shook her head. "No…I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk. Is that…alright?"

He frowned. "That is acceptable," he said. "Stay in the hallway. Most of the rooms are unlit."

"Of course." She hesitated for a moment. "Did you…just get home?" she asked.

He nodded once. Yuzu took a deep breath. "…Ru-Rukia-nee asked Maki-san to leave food out for you. On your desk."

He glanced into the room, and Yuzu saw a small amount of warmth flicker in his expression for a moment. Then it was gone. "Yes," he said. "I noticed. I will thank her in the morning." He paused and turned towards her, as if realizing something. "You are…" he began.

"Yuzu," she supplied. "Kurosaki Yuzu. Karin-chan is my twin sister. It's nice to meet you, Kuchiki-dono."

"Likewise. Good night, Kurosaki Yuzu."

"Good night, Kuchiki-dono."

He nodded at her, then stepped into the room and closed the door. Yuzu hesitated for a moment, before continuing on her walk.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	4. Gotei 13

**A/N: **This is the last chapter before I start with the academy entrance exam and getting in and stuff like that. Enjoy! And please review. I love getting reviews!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 4: Gotei 13<strong>

* * *

><p>Karin and Yuzu stood on the street, looking up at the building in front of them. On one of its walls facing out onto the street, it had the kanji for thirteen written on it. Karin leaned up on the balls of her feet, her hands behind her head as she studied it idly. Yuzu looked up at it with a small, uncertain frown on her face, her hands clasped together in front of her chest. Yuzu was dressed in a borrowed lavender yukata, but Karin had opted out and was instead wearing a light blue gi with a set of darker blue hakama.<p>

"Thirteen…" said Karin, reading off the number.

Rukia nodded. She was dressed in her shihakusho, and stood in front of the gate into the compound. "This is my division," she said. "The Thirteenth of the Gotei 13. It's led by Ukitake Jushiro-taicho." She walked over to the gate, then stopped. "Do you want to come in?" she asked.

The twins exchanged a glance, then looked back at Rukia and nodded. They couldn't really help being curious. Rukia nodded back and opened the door, and the girls stepped inside. They walked through a courtyard, both of them stopping to watch as two shinigami in the field next to them sparred with each other, their zanpakuto moving through the air and the clash of metal resounding as they seemed to disappear in an instant and reappear somewhere else.

Yuzu stared. She had only heard about the shinigami last night, and not under good circumstances. This was the first time she had seen any of them fight, besides Kuchiki-dono and his sakura petals. Looking at it now, she felt insecurity starting to grow inside her. She understood that she and Karin were here waiting for the entrance exams to begin so that they could become shinigami, but…

What they were doing…she couldn't do that. She didn't know if she would ever be able to.

"Yuzu?" asked Karin, looking back at her.

Yuzu swallowed and turned away from the sparring shinigami. "S-Sorry," she said, following her sister down the path.

Rukia opened the doors, and they stepped inside the division barracks. Yuzu looked around, noticing that Karin was doing the same. A group of shinigami were sitting around, and they looked up as Rukia entered. One of them, Yuzu noticed, was a man with long white hair. He wore a white haori over his shihakusho, the same as Kuchiki-dono did, but with sleeves. Yuzu tensed, noticing that the other shinigami had stopped to look at them as well.

"Rukia-san," said the man, looking up and smiling at her. He had kind eyes, Yuzu realized. He seemed the sort of person that made you feel at ease, and Yuzu could feel her worries drifting away slightly. Rukia bowed.

"Ukitake-taicho," she said.

"And who might you two be?" he asked, turning towards them.

Yuzu and Karin exchanged glances, and Karin spoke first. "Kurosaki Karin," she said.

"I'm Kurosaki Yuzu," said Yuzu after her sister spoke.

One of the shinigami standing next to Ukitake looked up, a puzzled expression on her face. "Kurosaki?" she asked.

"They're Ichigo's sisters," explained Rukia. The female shinigami's eyes grew round, and her mouth dropped open in a small 'o'.

"I didn't know he had sisters," she said. She was short, but not as short as Rukia, and had dark blond hair and slightly tan skin. Underneath her shihakusho, she wore a white shirt, the collar visible.

"They weren't involved in Soul Society," replied Rukia. She glanced at them, and Yuzu could almost hear the 'until now' that should have been tacked onto the end of that sentence. The female shinigami's eyes widened further, understanding Rukia's implications. She nodded, but said nothing. Ukitake smiled warmly at them.

"What can I do for you, Yuzu-chan? Karin-chan?" he asked.

"Ano…Rukia-nee invited us to see her division…" said Yuzu.

Karin nodded. "We're just looking around."

"They'll be taking the entrance exams for the Shino Academy in two months," said Rukia.

"Sou ka?" asked the woman, suddenly excited. "Then, when you graduate, you should both join the Thirteenth Squad! We have an amazing taicho!"

"Kiyone!" said another man, running over to her from across the room. Yuzu jumped to the side—he had almost barreled right into her. "How can you say that? We don't just have an amazing taicho, we have the best taicho in the Gotei 13!"

"Are you saying I don't respect taicho as much as you do, Sentaro?" asked the woman—Kiyone—glaring at him.

"Nobody respects taicho more than me!" said the man, Sentaro.

Yuzu, Karin, and Rukia sweatdropped. Ukitake looked slightly uncomfortable.

"My third seats," he said, "Kotetsu Kiyone and Kotsubaki Sentaro."

"Third seats?" asked Yuzu, frowning.

"Hai," said Ukitake. "Normally, each division is run by a taicho, a captain, who oversees the division, followed by a fukutaicho, a vice-captain, who assists the taicho. After that, the third highest ranking officer is called the third seat, and so on until the twentieth. Below that are the unseated shinigami. And above the taicho is the soutaicho—the head-captain. He is the leader of the captains, and thus the leader of the Gotei 13. Above him are the Central 46, and the king himself. The current soutaicho is Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni."

"So who's your fukutaicho?" asked Karin.

Ukitake frowned. "Regrettably, that position is unfilled."

There seemed to be more on the subject, but he didn't look like he was willing to say. Karin frowned, glancing at the two arguing third seats. If she had something on her mind, she held her tongue.

"What's Rukia-nee's seat?" asked Yuzu.

Rukia tensed. Ukitake glanced once at her, his expression suddenly grave.

"I'm…an unseated shinigami," said Rukia.

"The heck?" asked Karin, looking up. "I've seen you fight, Rukia-nee. You're amazing!"

"Be that as it may," said Rukia. Her eyes darkened, and she looked away. Karin looked ready to say something more, but before she could, Yuzu reached out and stopped her, her hand curling gently over her sister's wrist. Karin looked over her shoulder, and Yuzu shook her head slightly. She swallowed.

"I think Karin-chan and I should be going now," said Yuzu. "We don't want to intrude. Thank you for your time, Ukitake-taicho."

Ukitake nodded. "It was my pleasure," he said. "If you need anything while you're here, you can come see me."

"Thank you," said Yuzu, smiling slightly. She turned and Karin followed her, the two of them walking out of the division.

* * *

><p>Karin let out an indignant 'hmph' as they walked down the streets of Seireitei, leaving the Thirteenth behind them. "Rukia-nee could kick both those third seats' asses," she muttered.<p>

"Even so…" said Yuzu from beside her. "…It looked like it was a touchy subject for her. I'm sure there must be some sort of reason."

Karin shrugged. The two of them had not really known where to go, so they had followed the road that led outwards from the Thirteenth, towards the collection of buildings known as Seireitei. Rukia had told them earlier that if they ever got lost, they could ask directions, since everyone knew where the Kuchiki Family Manor was. The twins looked up as they passed another numbered set of barracks.

"Twelve," noted Yuzu as they walked past them. "So we're on our way back inside."

"That's the division Ichi-nii said not to join," said Karin as they passed. "I wonder why."

"Ah…if Ichi-nii said it, I think I'll believe him," she said.

Karin looked at her sister. At fifteen, Yuzu had grown taller. Her body had changed, although neither she nor Karin looked like they were going to be anything along the lines of Orihime or Toshiro's fukutaicho in that department. Her hair was still short, falling down to her ears, and she was as gentle as ever. In contrast, Karin now wore her hair slightly longer, tying it at the nape of her neck in a ponytail.

Something was bothering Yuzu. Karin couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she had a feeling that it wasn't the same as last night. She frowned. "What's up?" she asked.

"I'm just…thinking about the Academy," admitted Yuzu. "What those shinigami were doing…I don't think I can do that. I'm not strong like you or Ichi-nii."

"You think those shinigami just became good without even trying?" asked Karin. "That's what the academy's supposed to be for—to teach us stuff like this. You'll be fine."

"But…" she began.

Karin frowned at her. "You know, you don't have to do it," she said. "Just because you have a lot of reiryoku, doesn't mean you _have _to become a shinigami."

Yuzu shook her head. "I want to…" she said. "I want to at least try. That way, I'll know if I can do it or not."

"Then try," said Karin, "But don't worry so much about it."

They had gone a little further when a shout suddenly ran out through the street. Both twins stopped in their tracks, looking up.

"ICHIGO!"

A large man, with scars on his chest and on his face, spiky hair, and an eyepatch suddenly leapt down from the rooftop, in front of them. Both Karin and Yuzu jumped back, eyes wide. The man straightened up and stared at them.

"Oi," he said. "You're not Ichigo."

"Huh…" said a pink-haired girl, hanging onto his shoulder. "You feel just like Icchi!"

Karin twitched. Yuzu stood behind her, still frozen in shock.

"I'M HIS SISTER!" said Karin suddenly, recovering.

The spiky-haired man's interest peaked. "Ichigo's sister?" he asked. "Are you strong?"

"What the hell do you think?" asked Karin. "Do I look like a shinigami to you?"

The large man frowned, then turned towards the girl on his shoulder. "If Ichigo's sisters are here, that means he'll come here more often, right?"

"Mm-hmm!" she said. "Then Ken-chan and Icchi can play!"

"Heh," said the man, smirking. He turned towards the twins. "Oi, what're your names?" he asked.

"Karin."

"Y-Yuzu."

"You tell Ichigo that I'll be back," said the man. He grinned at them—a grin that made him seem like a shark, before he turned and jumped back onto the roof, revealing the number for eleven on his back.

"Bye, bye, Yu-chan, Ka-chan! We'll play sometime, 'kay?"

"Who the hell is Ka-chan?" shouted Karin after them. Neither of them turned around, and both disappeared in a flash. Karin ran a hand through her hair, letting out a breath through her teeth.

"Don't take it personally," said a cool, familiar voice from behind her. "Kusajishi-fukutaicho gives nicknames to everyone."

Karin looked up, turning around. A captain stood behind them, a frown on his face.

"Toshiro…" she said.

* * *

><p>"Kuchiki-taicho told me that you were staying at his house," said Toshiro.<p>

The two of them were seated in the Tenth Division barracks, watching the shinigami spar in the training field in front of them. The busty woman—Matsumoto-fukutaicho according to Toshiro—had gone off somewhere with Yuzu, saying that she would give her a tour of the barracks and explain more things about shinigami to her if she had questions. Karin nodded. As usual, she didn't even bother with seiza, but leaned casually against a pillar, taking a sip of the tea in front of her.

"Yeah," she said. "He's a prick. Hasn't said anything to us since last night."

"Kuchiki-taicho does tend to be a little rigid," said Toshiro, taking a sip of his own tea. "Don't take it personally. I'm sure the fact that he's letting you stay in his home means he doesn't hate you."

"What I want to know is who shoved the stick up his—."

Whatever she was about to say was cut off as a shout echoed from the training field. Toshiro looked up, but when he saw that it was nothing, he relaxed, frowning at her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "After yesterday?"

Karin shrugged. "A little pissed that I'll be missing the soccer tournament, and worried that the old man's going to come up with some cheap horror story to explain this. Otherwise, I guess I'm pretty good. There's a lot more going on here than I thought."

"It can be a little overwhelming," said Toshiro, "That's what the academy's for."

"I didn't know Ichi-nii was so famous," she said.

"It's not every day that a human develops shinigami powers while still alive," said Toshiro. "And he broke into Seireitei to stop an execution. That's not even counting the Winter War. Of course he'd be famous."

"Kinda makes me wonder what people expect me to do…" admitted Karin. She frowned. She didn't know why she was talking about this, but besides Rukia-nee and her family, Toshiro was the shinigami she had the best relationship with. They had met in the human world whenever he was on duty there, and had spoken with each other many times over the years. She liked to think they were friends, but she didn't know what Toshiro thought they were. He looked up at her, as if asking her to go on.

"…It's like everyone's comparing me to my brother," she said. "Like they all expect me to be some kind of genius or something."

"Well, doubtlessly, you have the potential to become strong," said Toshiro, frowning at her. "Have you _felt _your own reiryoku? Kuchiki Rukia thinks it's on par with your brother's before he became a shinigami."

That made Karin look up. "Have you been asking questions about me?" she asked with a small grin.

Toshiro's eyes widened, and he looked away from her, folding his arms. "Nothing like that," he said. "She mentioned it in passing."

Karin frowned. "Hey, Toshiro," she said. He looked up. "Tell me more about the squads. So I know what I'm getting into."

Toshiro frowned at her, before nodding. "Well, you know there are thirteen squads." She nodded. "Each squad has its own area of specialty, and its own personality. The first squad is Yamamoto-soutaicho's squad. Although because he's always busy, it's run mostly by his fukutaicho, Sasakibe Chojiro. Because it's the First Division, it has the strictest environment. All of its members are considered to be model shinigami, and their specialty is dealing with emergencies and threats to Seireitei."

"So basically, they're a squad of teacher's pets," said Karin, "Because the soutaicho's their captain."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow at her, unamused, but he continued. "The Second Division is run by Soifon-taicho, and her lieutenant is Omaeda Marechiyo. The squad is tied into the Onmitsukido or Stealth Forces, so they usually do secret missions."

"Like ninja," said Karin.

"You could say that," said Toshiro. "Then there's the third. Its captain was Ichimaru Gin, one of those that betrayed Soul Society, but he was replaced just last year by Abarai Renji."

Karin's eyes widened slightly. "The red pineapple's a captain now?" she asked.

"_Abarai-taicho_," continued Hitsugaya, stressing the term, "is currently leading the squad along with his lieutenant, Kira Izuru. The third squad doesn't have a specialty currently, since they're still rebuilding, but they have all the general responsibilities that other squads have. Then there's the Fourth, led by Unohana Retsu and her lieutenant Kotetsu Isane. They're kido specialists, and they focus on healing."

"Like a hospital," said Karin.

Toshiro nodded. "The hospital is actually located inside their barracks. The Fifth…" He paused for a moment. "…The Fifth doesn't have a taicho. It's run by its fukutaicho, Hinamori Momo. She's been bedridden until just a year and a half ago, and so, it's hard to describe it." There was a sad look in his eyes when he mentioned Hinamori that Karin couldn't place, and she didn't want to ask him about it. It looked…like deep regret. "It was Aizen Sousuke's squad."

"Aizen…" said Karin. Even she knew that name.

Toshiro shook his head. "That's followed by the Sixth. Kuchiki-taicho's squad. Abarai-taicho used to be his lieutenant, but that position's still vacant. Their unofficial specialty is to uphold the law in Soul Society, and Kuchiki-taicho holds all his squad members to that standard. Also, it's unofficially known as the Kuchiki's squad, because for most of its existence, it's been led by a Kuchiki."

She listened as he explained about the Seventh and Eighth Squad. The Seventh Squad apparently focused on honor, and was led by Komamura Sajin and Tetsuzaemon Iba, and the Eighth Squad was led by Kyoraku Shunsui and his lieutenant Nanao Ise. Apparently the captain of that squad was too lazy to have a specialty. Or something to that effect.

"The ninth also doesn't have a captain," said Toshiro. "It's led by its fukutaicho, Hisagi Shuuhei. It's in charge of communications, and also publishes a magazine every month. And then the Tenth."

"Oh, yeah," said Karin, grinning. "I heard that Division's led by a short delinquent with bleached hair."

Toshiro glared at her. "That's not funny."

Karin's grin widened, and he sighed. "We're the division most involved with the living world, and Karakura Town. The Eleventh, which follows, is focused on swordsmanship, and is run by Zaraki Kenpachi and his fukutaicho Kusajishi Yachiru. You've met them."

She nodded.

"Finally, there's the Twelfth and Thirteenth. The Twelfth is focused on research. Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Kurotsuchi Nemu run it. And the Thirteenth is run by Ukitake Jushiro-taicho. His previous fukutaicho died a few decades ago, and the position's been vacant since."

"Why doesn't he pick one of his third seats?" asked Karin.

"Yes, but which one?" asked Toshiro. Karin frowned, remembering how competitive they were. She sighed.

"Good point," she said, staring at her tea.

* * *

><p>Rangiku grinned, peeking around the door at her taicho and Karin, both of whom were still talking to each other. The other Kurosaki stood behind her, frowning up at her as she watched them.<p>

"Is something wrong, Matsumoto-fukutaicho?" asked Yuzu.

"No, nothing's wrong, Yuzu-chan," said Rangiku, giving the girl a reassuring grin and patting her head. "Actually, I had a question to ask you."

"A question?" asked Yuzu, frowning.

"You know your sister best, right?" asked Rangiku.

"I…I suppose," said Yuzu as the two of them pulled away from the wall and walked further into the barracks. "We are twins after all. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing~" said Rangiku. "I'm just wondering if there's anything between my taicho and your sister."

Yuzu flushed, looking back at the door. Between…Karin and Hitsugaya-kun? She had never thought about that. "Most of Karin's friends are boys, so it's not really unusual for her to be friends with him…" she said.

"But what's unusual is how my taicho is behaving~" said Matsumoto. "Have you noticed anything about him? Specifically his name?"

Yuzu's eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. Whenever she had met Hitsugaya-kun in the human world and had seen him talking to Karin…when he was in a _gigai_, of course, he had always insisted that everyone else who spoke with him needed to call him by his last name. And just now, she had heard him insist to Matsumoto that she call him _Hitsugaya-taicho_.

But Karin…

"_Toshiro!" _

She called him Toshiro, by his given name, like she did for most of her male friends. That wasn't odd.

The odd thing was that she had _never heard him correct her_.

"You've noticed it too?" asked Matsumoto, grinning at her.

Yuzu nodded once, and looked back at her sister, a frown on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>END OF INTRODUCTORY ARC. NEXT ARC: ACADEMY<strong>


	5. The Entrance Exam

**A/N: **Hmm…about their squads, the person that commented on that in the review has the most logical idea, and that's what everyone in this story will be expecting. But I won't confirm or deny anything.

As for Yuzu pairs, would you guys be opposed to having ByaYuzu as a pairing? Or having Byakuya and Yuzu have a mentor/mentee sort of relationship? The first choice would start with the second, just don't want to do something that will freak a whole bunch of people out.

And because I didn't want to skip straight to the results of their exam, but I didn't want to write the exam in too much detail, this chapter gives a little development to two of my subplots. ^_^

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 5: The Entrance Exam<strong>

* * *

><p>"Alright, this is it," said Rukia, standing outside the testing building in the First District of Eastern Rukongai.<p>

Even though it was still fairly early in the morning, it was already crowded, a large group of shinigami hopefuls signing up for the exam that would determine whether or not they would see the inside of Seireitei. There were also a smaller number of people coming _out _of Seireitei. Rukia had explained when Karin asked that they were the children of noble families and of currently active shinigami.

Yuzu swallowed, nervously playing with her fingers as she watched the crowds. There were so many people here, and this was only one of the four testing locations. There was no way that everyone would be making their way into the Shino Academy, so why was she assuming that she could? Her stomach twisted. She hadn't been able to eat breakfast this morning, unlike Karin who had scarfed down everything on the plate in front of her, indicating to Yuzu that she was nervous as well.

It was just another way they were opposite. Karin ate when she was nervous. Yuzu couldn't swallow a single bite. Maki-san, who had become their _de facto _caretaker during their stay at the Kuchiki Family Manor, had assured her earlier that she would do well, and that the fact that she could sense spirits as a human, whether or not she could see them clearly, already meant that she had a good deal of reiryoku, but when it came to the actual exam, Yuzu was terrified.

And she could tell that Karin was as well.

Rukia, as if seeing the uncertainty on their faces, placed one hand on each of their shoulders.

"You'll do fine," she said. "And when you get back, we'll all go to lunch. The two of you, me, and your brother."

Karin scowled, as if just remembering that. "That's another thing. Why does he have to come here on the one day we can't show up?" she asked. Yuzu nodded in agreement. Ichigo had been there to wish them good luck when they left this morning, but he had a meeting with the soutaicho and couldn't walk them there.

And Kuchiki-dono hadn't even been present at breakfast this morning. He was just…gone.

"It's not as if he meant to," said Rukia. "He was summoned by Yamamoto-soutaicho. That's not the sort of thing you can ignore."

"I guess," said Karin. "Hope he doesn't run into Zaraki on the way there, or he'll miss his meeting."

Rukia nodded. Then, she released both of them, giving them light pushes towards the sign-up tables. "Come on, enough stalling. Use the seals I gave you to get back through the gate when you're finished, and meet me at the Thirteenth."

The two of them nodded, staring down at the white cards in their hand. On both of them, in black, was the Kuchiki Seal with Rukia's name written under it. The guards had been instructed earlier that two girls with those seals were to get back through the gates after examinations. Karin tapped Yuzu on the shoulder meaningfully and pocketed hers.

"Better put that away before they figure out what it is," she whispered, her voice low.

Yuzu blinked up at her sister and looked around. A few of the test-takers looked at them with open jealousy on their faces. From their clothing, they looked like they were from the lower districts of Rukongai. She swallowed and nodded, pocketing the card.

The two of them walked over to the sign-up table, where a bored looking shinigami was waiting.

"Names?" he asked, holding his brush up over a piece of paper that already had several names written on it.

"Kurosaki Karin," said Karin.

"K-Kurosaki Yuzu."

He wrote their names down, not even looking up at their surnames. Apparently, he had been forewarned. That, or he was buried in enough paper and had heard enough well-known last names today that it didn't even matter. He nodded, and held out a numbered card to each of them.

"When your number is called, go in through the doors and into the first available testing room," he said.

Karin glanced down at her number. 66. She looked over at Yuzu's, which read 67.

"How many testing rooms are there?" she asked the shinigami.

"Eight," he replied, barely looking up.

"And what number was the last to get called?" asked Yuzu, tentatively.

"27."

Yuzu and Karin exchanged glances, Yuzu's resigned, Karin's annoyed.

It was going to be a _long _day.

* * *

><p>Ichigo was annoyed.<p>

Not only was he being summoned by the soutaicho when that old man _promised _him that he was going to have a year to make up his mind, the soutaicho had done it on testing day for the academy. He had wanted to at least be able to walk his sisters there. He sighed, focusing on the path in front of him so that he didn't get lost. After three years, he knew Seireitei a little better, but still not perfectly, since he didn't spend most of his time here.

The walk to the First Division, though, was starting to become oddly routine, and that made him slightly uncomfortable.

It wasn't like he was only here when he was in trouble for something, was it?

…Okay, maybe it was.

"ICHIGO!"

Ichigo's eyes widened.

Oh crap.

He grabbed onto Zangetsu's hilt, jumping out of the way just as Kenpachi fell down from above, landing just where he had been standing a few moments ago and kicking up dust. The Eleventh Squad Captain grinned maniacally at him as he stood up, Yachiru clinging to his shoulder and his nameless zanpakuto in his hand.

"You're meeting with the old fart," said Kenpachi, grinning and stepping forward. "So I'm not going to mess with you."

Ichigo blinked, his eyes widening as he lowered his sword.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," said Kenpachi. Ichigo stared at the him for a moment, confused. Then, Kenpachi's grin widened.

"After the meeting, we'll fight!"

_Not on your life_, thought Ichigo, sweatdropping. He knew it was too good to be true. It was a good thing Kenpachi's sense of direction was even worse than his.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo saw movement. He and Kenpachi both looked up, frowning. Byakuya was walking down the path, _away _from the soutaicho's office. He was frowning, which was nothing new, but there was something off about him. His body seemed a little more rigid, his shoulders a little more tense. His fingers were curled inwards slightly, almost into fists. The Rokubantai's captain's eyes were fixed straight ahead, his scarf moving with each step. His face was as emotionless as always, except for his eyes. They were as cold as Ichigo had ever seen them, and he had only seen them like that once—the day he and Byakuya fought.

Since the First Division was the only thing in that direction, it stood to reason that Byakuya had just been in a meeting with the soutaicho.

And Yamamoto couldn't have said _anything _good.

Ichigo was probably one of the few people in Seireitei that wasn't afraid of Byakuya, but even he swallowed and stepped back when the captain passed by, ignoring him. Kenpachi's slasher grin widened, and he looked up.

"Oi! Kuchiki Byakuya!" he called, pointing his sword at the sixth squad captain. "Let's fight!"

Byakuya, who had his eyes closed at the moment Kenpachi called him, opened them suddenly, turning his head towards him slightly and glaring.

"Tch."

He saw the reiatsu leave Byakuya for a second as two thin sheets of white, the wind of their passing moving back his hair and scarf. The reiatsu sheets skirted upwards and just over their heads, and with a sliding noise, the shingles from the roof above them slid forward, crashing onto the street. Ichigo turned his head. The reiatsu had cut into the roof, leaving two neat diagonal slashes.

When he turned back to Byakuya, the captain was again walking down the street.

A tinkling sound from beside him made him turn. One of Kenpachi's bells—the top-most one, in fact—fell to the ground, sliced neatly in half.

Kenpachi didn't seem fazed at all. Instead, he grinned.

"Interesting," Ichigo heard him say.

What he was most worried about was what Yamamoto could have said to get _Byakuya _so riled up.

* * *

><p>"Number 66!"<p>

Karin sat up when she heard her number called, getting to her feet. She and Yuzu had found a place beneath a tree, and had been sitting there waiting. The crowd had grown a lot since they first arrived, and she saw one of the newcomers get a number that had three digits…and the first digit wasn't a one. She winced in pity, rubbing out the kink in her neck and walking to the door.

"Good luck," said Yuzu as she walked away.

"Thanks," said Karin, nodding at her. She tried to stay calm, but she couldn't help being nervous. At the moment, she just wanted to get all of this over with. She stepped in through the door, just as someone else left.

"Number 67!" she heard them call out into the crowd.

Karin had to smile a little at that. She guessed that she and Yuzu were just destined to do everything together. A shinigami ushered her into a testing room, and she closed the door. It was a completely bare room, except for the shinigami who sat at a desk up against one wall of the room and a chair in the middle, facing the desk. She didn't recognize the shinigami.

"Give me your card, and have a seat. Don't tell me your name."

"Why not?" she asked as she handed her card over.

"Standard practice," replied the shinigami as she took a seat. "Exam graders don't know the names of the people they're grading, so that even a noble from one of the Four Great Houses is graded on the same standards as everyone else. You gave your name at the desk outside. Once your exam is graded, it will be matched with your number."

She nodded. It made sense.

"Now, I am going to measure and test your reiryoku," he said. "The purpose of this exam is to find both your current level of control, if applicable, and your potential. You aren't expected to be able to control your spiritual power yet, however, if you have even the slightest amount of control, you should show me. Are we clear?"

Karin nodded again.

"Alright," he said. "Let's begin."

* * *

><p>"Kurosaki Ichigo," said Yamamoto, looking up as Ichigo entered. He was sitting in his chair, his staff clasped in both his hands and resting on the floor. Ichigo approached the chair.<p>

"Jii-san," he said, frowning slightly. Yamamoto cracked open an eye and studied his face.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

"Ah, well…" said Ichigo. "Was that…I mean, did you just have a meeting with Byakuya?"

"Hmm…" said Yamamoto, closing his eyes again. "Yes, I did just meet with Kuchiki-taicho. Why do you ask?"

_Because he's freaking pissed at whatever you told him…_

"I ran into him on the way here…" said Ichigo. "He, uh…wasn't happy."

"I would imagine so," said Yamamoto. "However, Kuchiki-taicho will do his duty. You know this."

Ichigo nodded, but he could tell that Yamamoto knew what he really wanted to ask and was evading it. It wasn't too hard to guess what the subject of Byakuya and Yamamoto's talk had been. There was really only one thing Ichigo had seen the uptight noble get visibly angry about. And considering the last time he had seen that expression on Byakuya's face, that one thing had been about to be executed…he really wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"What did you want to see me about?" he asked.

"It's been five months," said Yamamoto. "I wished to speak with you more, about your decision."

Ichigo sighed. He knew it would be something like this.

* * *

><p>"Just relax," the woman told Yuzu. "This will go smoother if you don't fight me. Close your eyes and try to think of something you can get lost in. A childhood memory, perhaps."<p>

Yuzu nodded and closed her eyes. Something she could get lost in…She thought of her family, her brother and sister, the times they would go to the beach or the days they would go up to their mother's grave. She could feel the examiner's presence around her, and she did her best to ignore it, even when she felt it pushing against the edges of her consciousness. The examiner said nothing, but Yuzu could feel her push and withdraw, as if she was testing the strength of a wall by pushing against it.

After a while, she felt the examiner grab hold of something inside her and draw it to the surface.

"I want you to tell me if you hear or feel anything," the examiner said, her clear voice cutting through Yuzu's thoughts. "Ready?"

Yuzu nodded once, her eyes still closed. She tensed, her heart beating quickly. She heard the examiner take a deep breath. Then, she pulled.

* * *

><p><em>Tha-thump.<em>

Karin's eyes snapped open suddenly as power pulsed over her in a wave, drawn forth by the examiner. It pressed against her, putting pressure on her so that for a moment her mouth opened in a gasp as she tried to breathe and darkness clouded the edge of her vision. She swallowed hard, fighting to gain control of it because it _was _a part of her, she could feel that much. And as her mind touched it and she pressed down on it, she thought she heard it speak.

_...ter…_

…_you're being such a cheater…_

She pressed back down on it and the pressure left her sitting in her chair and breathing hard. The examiner stepped back, watching her curiously.

"What did you feel?" he asked.

"Like I was being fucking choked," Karin muttered under her breath, not even bothering with niceties. The man scribbled something down on her card.

"And did you hear anything?"

"Yeah," said Karin. She took another deep breath and wiped her face, quickly getting over it and shaking her head. She could still feel…whatever it was…settling back down inside her, burying itself underneath the layers it had hidden itself in before. "I heard a voice, calling me a cheater. It sounded like a little kid. What the hell was that?"

"It was a test to see if your reiryoku had a form for itself," he said. "Basically, a test of your ability to form a zanpakuto."

"And did I pass?" asked Karin.

The man frowned at her. "I'm not at liberty to discuss that information. The test is over, though. You can go. Results will be delivered in two weeks' time."

"Y-Yeah…" Karin said, nodding. Still a little shaken, she got up and left the testing room.

* * *

><p>"Well?" asked the woman, standing over her.<p>

Yuzu took a deep breath, her hands clasped in front of her chest. "It feels…warm…" she said.

"Warm?" asked the woman.

"Warm…and…bright," said Yuzu. She wasn't sure how to quantify this feeling. It felt almost like she imagined a fire would feel, but it wasn't a flame. It wasn't as hot, and it wasn't as passionate as fire. It just felt…warm.

"And do you hear anything?"

Yuzu frowned. "No…" she said. "But I see…"

"See?" asked the woman, looking down at her. Yuzu's eyes were closed.

Yuzu nodded. "White…" she said. "White on white."

She felt the woman's hands release her, and the warm feeling suddenly left her. Yuzu's eyes opened. The woman was standing in front of her. She looked intrigued, and as if she didn't know what to make of what Yuzu had just told her. She frowned.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

"No," replied the woman, distracted. She shook her head slowly. "You just didn't give me the answer I was expecting. But don't worry about it. It shouldn't affect your grade." She scribbled something down. "You can go," she said. "Results will be in in about two weeks."

Yuzu nodded, getting up from her seat. "Thank you," she said, bowing at the woman before leaving the room.

She bumped into Karin in the hallway. Her sister looked troubled. There was a frown on her face, and her arms were folded over the dark green kosode that she had worn today.

"Ah, Yuzu, how'd it go?" asked Karin when she practically bumped into her.

"I guess we'll find out," said Yuzu, frowning once at her sister's face before following her out the door. She couldn't help feeling like she had somehow given the wrong answer. But it was true. Yuzu hadn't heard anything, but she had seen something. Behind her closed eyes, she had seen something that could only be described as white.

* * *

><p>When Ichigo got to the Thirteenth Division, somehow avoiding a waiting Kenpachi, he didn't see Rukia standing around outside, nor did he see his sisters, so he guessed that they were probably either not back or were inside talking about the exam. That didn't surprise him. What did surprise him was that there was a different Kuchiki standing around outside the Division, staring at the number thirteen for a moment as if it were something completely alien to him.<p>

He looked around, but there was nobody else outside.

"Byakuya."

Kuchiki Byakuya turned towards him, and Ichigo sighed inwardly in relief when he saw that most of the raw fury he had seen earlier had burned off, replaced by something more quiet and contemplative, and more like the Byakuya he was used to. Normal Byakuya might have been a stick in the mud, but at least he knew how to deal with that.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," said Byakuya, nodding in acknowledgment.

Ichigo stepped forward, towards him. "Thinking about what the old man told you?" he asked.

Byakuya's eyes narrowed for a moment. "That is not your concern."

Ichigo scowled in reply. "If you're here, it is," he said, glancing at the Division number. "What does the old man want with Rukia now?"

Byakuya tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, studying Ichigo with a frown on his face. "Do you care for my sister, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Like you need to ask," said Ichigo. "She's _nakama_."

"Of course," said Byakuya. "That is not, however, what I meant."

Ichigo's eyes widened at the cool reply and he stared at the noble. Stared openly. Because he couldn't believe Byakuya would ask a question like that, and because he didn't know how to answer it. Byakuya waited for a few moments, before speaking again.

"Very well," he said. "I see that this is neither the time nor the place for this conversation. Let me ask something else. Do you care for your own sisters?"

Ichigo took a deep breath, folding his arms. "Of course I do," he said. "They're my sisters."

"You are unhappy that they are entering the academy, but at the same time, you have not done anything to stop them. Why is this?"

Ichigo frowned, thinking over his answer. "Of course I'm unhappy," he said. "I don't want Yuzu and Karin to get hurt, and I know if they fight, they're going to get hurt. I wish I could have protected them from this, and I still want to stop them, but at the same time…" He paused for a moment. "…I want them to do well. And I don't want to stop them from doing what they want to do."

"I see…" said Byakuya. "You want to protect them, but at the same time, you do not want to hold them back."

"Yeah…" said Ichigo. "And part of me is proud of them. I know they'll do well." He frowned. "This has something to do with Rukia, doesn't it?"

Byakuya's silence was enough answer. They stood there for a while, before Byakuya turned around. "I must return to my Division," he said, before walking back down the street. Ichigo let him go for a moment, not turning around to face him. Then, he stopped and looked up.

"Byakuya, wait."

"Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

He turned his head and noticed that the noble had also turned his head towards him. "She'd do well," said Ichigo. "You know that, right? Rukia must have picked up something from you, because she'll work until she gets it perfect."

Byakuya stared at him for a while before nodding once. He turned his head and in a flash, he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	6. Family matters

**A/N: **On the topic of pairings, I've gotten mixed reviews (about half want it/wouldn't mind it and the other half don't like it), so I'll clarify my reasons for considering it. Basically, my idea for Yuzu's zanpakuto (won't spoil what it is here) is _heavily _based on a certain legend, and one of the characters of that legend fits Byakuya perfectly, which is why I first thought about it. It could work either way, but the parallels to the legend would flow smoother if I paired them up. If I did do it, I'd do my best to make it make sense and keep it in character.

**Blaze on**, I'll look into Shuuhei, but I'm reluctant to do anything with him because I don't know his character as much. (It's been a long time since I watched Bleach, so he really isn't very clear in my mind).

**bcsaturdai, **that's the idea. I know there are some obvious places for Yuzu and Karin that seem to fit their personalities, but I'm going to try and do something different for this story, and hopefully make it still believable. Anyway, before they pick squads, they have to get through the Academy.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 6: Family matters<strong>

* * *

><p>It was a peaceful day at the Kuchiki Family Manor. Kuchiki Byakuya, 28th head of the clan, sat on his heels on the terrace overlooking his koi pond, taking a sip from the cup of tea in his hand. He savored the peace and quiet. Today was a rest day for his division, and although he normally kept working even when the rest of his division rested, he found himself taking more and more of those days off since Renji's promotion. As he was acting as both captain and vice-captain for his division, it was difficult going even for him.<p>

And of course, his thoughts were occupied by his sister. While the Sixth Division had the day off, the Thirteenth was still working, and he would soon have to speak to Ukitake-taicho about what Yamamoto-soutaicho had spoken with him about. He would go in the late afternoon, when the captain was certain to be back from his brief stay at the Fourth. In the meantime, he allowed himself a few moments of peace and tranquility, his eyes fixed on the lazy splashes made by the koi in the pond as he took a small sip of green tea.

"_Yatta!" _

The voice cut through his tranquil surroundings like Senbonzakura Kageyoshi through tissue paper and he cringed, his fingers curling around his cup of tea. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to ignore the pounding footfalls down his hallway.

"Yuzu! Where are you? YUZU!"

The noisemaker skid to a sudden stop and Byakuya opened his eyes, giving her a disapproving look. Kurosaki Karin's face was flushed, but more from exertion than embarrassment, and her hair was in disarray. She was barefoot and held a folded piece of paper in her hand, next to an unfolded sheet. She looked at him.

As if on cue, the sliding door slid open and her sister came out, a frown on her face. "Karin-chan, what's the matter?" she asked. She paused, giving Byakuya a short bow of respect, to which he responded with a nod.

"I believe your sister is trying to tell you that the results of your entrance examinations have arrived," said Byakuya, giving Karin a cool look before taking a sip of his tea. "I trust the results were favorable."

"Yeah," said Karin, passing the folded piece of paper over his head towards her sister. She took it from her, frowning. "Open yours first, and I'll tell you mine."

"Eh?" asked Yuzu, breaking the academy's seal on the message. "The results are in?"

"Yep!" said Karin. "I can't wait to tell Ichi-nii!"

Byakuya watched as the younger of the twins unfolded the letter, a nervous look on her face. Her eyes drifted over its contents quickly, widening as she went further down. He paused, giving her enough time to read, before turning to the older…and brasher sister.

"Well?" he prompted.

"Top marks," said Karin, grinning. "And I got placed into the first class. How'd you do, Yuzu?"

"I'm in Class 2," said Yuzu, smiling at her sister. Karin's face fell slightly.

"So we won't be classmates," she said.

"But at least I got in," said Yuzu.

Karin scoffed. "As if there wasn't a chance you _wouldn't _get in," she said. "Come on! Let's go!" As Byakuya looked on, she grabbed her sister by the wrist, pulling her down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" asked Yuzu as she was dragged off.

"To tell Toshiro!" said Karin.

"Ah, b-but…"

Yuzu's protests died off as she was dragged down the hallway. Byakuya waited until their voices disappeared into the distance, then he turned back towards the pond and took another sip of tea. Finally, he could return to his peace and quiet.

"Byakushi!"

…Or not.

* * *

><p>Ichigo arrived at home to find the <em>jigokucho <em>sitting on the kitchen table, its wings flapping lazily. He frowned and tossed his messenger bag onto the chair beside him, reaching out a hand towards it. The black butterfly flitted over to his finger, landing on its outstretched hand. If this was another summons from the soutaicho, he was going to throw somebody through a wall. Or take up Kenpachi on his offer.

Scratch the last one. He wasn't suicidal. Renji would do just fine.

He frowned, listening as the butterfly gave him its message, in cool clear tones that could only belong to one person. He raised his hand and the butterfly flew away, flying out the open window and into the sky, its mission complete. Ichigo looked around the room. "Oi, old man!" he called.

No one answered. The house was silent. Ichigo frowned and walked across to the connecting door that led to the clinic, opening it. Kurosaki Isshin was standing there, talking to a patient. Ichigo cringed, hearing his father suddenly let out an exaggerated wail.

"Yes, it's all true, Saito-san!" said Isshin, sobbing theatrically. "My poor lovely daughters, cut down by a masked murderer!"

Ichigo's eye twitched, and his grip on the doorknob tightened. The old woman he was talking to had tears in her eyes. Ichigo stared in disbelief as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Oh, poor dear," she said, patting Isshin on the shoulder and causing him to let out an even louder wail. "And they were such nice girls…"

"Oi!" said Ichigo, causing Isshin to look up.

"Ah, Saito-san, it looks like my son needs me!" said Isshin, getting up. "Poor boy's been overwhelmed with grief!"

He swore that the doorknob was going to snap and come off in his hand. He was holding it tightly enough. "Who's overwhelmed?" he shouted, glaring at his father.

"Oh, he's in denial, poor child!" said Isshin, pointing dramatically at Ichigo. "The trauma's been too much for him!"

All throughout this exchange, Saito-san was nodding her head in understanding. Ichigo growled. Enough was enough. He released the door, grabbing Isshin by his collar and dragging him into the living room.

"Come back next week for your check-up!" his father said, waving at the old woman as he was dragged away. The door to the clinic slammed behind him.

The moment they were in the living room, Ichigo pinned Isshin against the wall. "What the hell was _that _for?" he asked, glaring at his father.

Isshin grinned. "I need to play a convincing part when my patients ask how I'm doing," he said. "Besides, it'll make explaining the move easier."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "What move?" he asked.

"You know," said Isshin. "Because you're going to—."

"I NEVER SAID I WAS GOING TO DO ANYTHING!" said Ichigo, spinning around and kicking his father into the couch. Isshin grunted and rolled over onto the floor, looking up at the poster of his wife. "Oh, Masaki, our oldest child is so cruel!" he moaned.

Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What's first class?" he asked.

"Hmm?" asked Isshin, tilting his head up from the floor so he was facing Ichigo.

"You know, in the Academy," said Ichigo.

"Oh," said Isshin. "That's Class 1. It's an accelerated class that takes in the best students from each year. Most officers started there. Why?"

"Byakuya sent a message," replied Ichigo. "Karin's in it. Yuzu's in Class 2."

"Ha!" said Isshin, jumping up. "Masaki, did you hear that? Our eldest daughter takes after me!"

"That's not always a good thing," muttered Ichigo, folding his arms. He paused for a moment, then blinked up at his father. "Wait a minute? You were in the first class?"

"Oh, Ichigo, why do you have so little faith in your father?" asked Isshin, clasping his hands together and leaning in front of Ichigo with exaggerated streams of tears running from his eyes.

"Shut up," said Ichigo, kicking him away.

"Maaasssaaakkkiii!"

* * *

><p>"Very sorry," said the shinigami at the door to the barracks. "But Hitsugaya-taicho is not here. He's on a short mission to the human world."<p>

"Well, that sucks," muttered Karin, her hands clasped together behind her head as she looked up at the sky. She turned towards Yuzu. "What do you want to do now?"

Yuzu frowned. "We could…visit Rukia-nee at the Thirteenth," she said.

"We're always down there," said Karin. "Besides, we can see her later, and those two idiots are just gonna pitch the Thirteenth towards us again."

"Ano…" said Yuzu, frowning. "We could…hmm…"

"Let's keep walking," said Karin, with a small shrug. "We'll find something to do."

Yuzu nodded, following her sister down the path. Karin frowned. "Wonder if Toshiro's in Karakura Town," she said.

"He might be," said Yuzu, turning towards her sister. "Doesn't Hitsugaya-kun usually go on his living world missions there?"

"Yeah," said Karin. "Wish he would've said something yesterday."

"Why?" asked Yuzu.

"Could have asked him to check how the soccer tournament turned out," said Karin. "I mean, knowing Coach, he probably replaced me with Yamamura, and he's pretty good on his own, but he doesn't mesh well with the rest of the team, so if they fixed his attitude problem, we probably did well, but…"

She trailed off, both twins stopping and turning their heads as a giggling streak of pink rushed through the space between them, a bulging sack slung over her shoulder.

"See you later, pineapple-taicho!" she said, jumping off the paths and onto the rooftop. Karin and Yuzu blinked, watching as she flash stepped away.

"Damn it! Come back here!" yelled a voice. The two of them looked in unison and saw a red-haired shinigami running towards them, his sleeveless captain haori flaring out behind him. The sleeves were ripped slightly at the edges, as if he had just pulled them off the original. His hair was done up in a high ponytail, and there were tattoos on his face.

"Which way did she go?" he asked.

The two of them pointed. Renji cursed.

"Oi! Izuru! We lost her!"

A flash of movement, and then a blond shinigami was crouching on the rooftop above them, a frown on his face. He had a badge tied around his arm with the kanji for _three _on it. He frowned. "She'll have to leave her division eventually," he said.

"Yeah, with Zaraki-taicho," muttered Renji. "Alright, go back and see if we can't spread out what she _didn't _steal."

The blond vice-captain, Kira Izuru, nodded and in a flash he was gone. Renji muttered under his breath and scratched his head. Karin grinned.

"Yo, red pineapple-san!" she said.

He stiffened and turned towards her. "It's Abarai, damn it! Abarai Renji! I am not a red pineapple!" Renji stopped, looking at the two of them. "…What are you two doing out here anyway?"

"Going to see Toshiro, but he's not in," said Karin.

"Ano…did something happen with Kusajishi-fukutaicho?" asked Yuzu, frowning.

"Aa," said Renji. "Graduation's tomorrow morning, and after the ceremony, we were gonna have food out for the new recruits. Some of our division members were preparing dessert in advance."

"And she smelled sweets and came running," concluded Karin, glancing at the wall Yachiru had leapt over.

"More or less," said Renji. He frowned. "Oh, so exam results are out already, aren't they?"

Karin nodded. "We both got in," she said. "I'm first class, Yuzu's second class."

"Ah, cool. Great job." said Renji. "You'll be with Onabara-sensei. I was in his class."

"You were in first class?" asked Karin, frowning.

"Yeah," said Renji.

"Suddenly I don't feel so proud of it anymore," muttered Karin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" yelled Renji.

Karin grinned. "Anyway, Yuzu and I are heading back. Shouldn't you go back to your Division?"

Renji frowned. "Why?" he asked.

"Because Yachiru's making two trips," said Karin, pointing at a streak of pink that soared overhead. Renji's eyes widened.

"Goddammit!" he cursed, turning around and flash stepping away.

* * *

><p>Byakuya studied Rukia as she parried the shinigami's blow almost effortlessly, her still sealed zanpakuto clashing against his with a resounding clang. Her opponent was an unseated shinigami, the same rank as she was, and a member of the same squad that she was a member of, but the difference between them was clear. He was greatly outmatched. He watched his sister, taking note of the control with which she handled her blade, the determined look in her eyes and the poise with which she settled into her next defensive stance. She had come a long way from the uncertain academy student that he had adopted into the Kuchiki family. And the more she grew, the more her similarities with Hisana faded into the background.<p>

The two women couldn't be more different. Hisana was the perfect nobleman's wife—polite, delicate, and demure. She was a lady in every sense of the word, and her strength was not an outer strength, but an inner one.

Rukia…

Rukia did not meet the set standards for a nobleman's wife. But for a noblewoman in her own right, as a member of the Kuchiki Clan with pride of her own…as his _sister…_

A flash of light drew his attention. Rukia's opponent had released her zanpakuto, and his sister was now facing a halberd wielded by an opponent who didn't seem as if he knew how to fully make use of his longer reach. He observed the spar with a cool look in his eye.

It was over. Rukia straightened up, holding her sword out in front of her.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

With a sudden burst of cold air, the most beautiful zanpakuto in Soul Society took form, a pure white blade. Rukia and the shinigami attacked at the same time, the shinigami thrusting with his halberd, and Rukia holding her sword in both hands.

And then her opponent stood there, wide-eyed as he held his halberd in both hands. Rukia looked down at him, a feat that would have normally been impossible for someone of her stature, had she not been balanced precariously on the shaft of his halberd, her white blade pointing directly at her opponent's forehead. Cold air misted around them, ice crystals forming at the tip of Rukia's blade. The grass around them was covered in frost from the release of her sword.

Byakuya studied her stance, his eyes quickly searching for any flaws that would be unbecoming in a noble of the Kuchiki Clan. And while her stance was not quite perfect, it…passed his inspection.

Once again, he had to concede that that insufferable Kurosaki had a point.

She was officially the second-highest ranked person in their clan, and she had her own pride. He had done her a great disservice.

She jumped down, and Sode no Shirayuki returned to its sealed state as she sheathed it. It was then that he decided to make his presence known. Byakuya cleared his throat, and she looked up.

"Nii-sama!" she said, her eyes widening in surprise.

Her opponent simply stared. Byakuya ignored him.

"Is Ukitake in?" he asked.

"Ah, hai," said Rukia, nodding her head. "Taicho's inside. I can take you to him."

"There is no need," said Byakuya, raising a hand to stop her as she took a step forward, towards him. "Resume your training."

"Hai, nii-sama," said Rukia, giving him a polite bow. He heard her speaking with the other shinigami as he stepped inside, through the doors that led into the Division barracks. Shinigami stared at him as he passed, clearing a path between him and Ukitake's office. He did not turn to look at them, entering the office and closing the door behind him.

Ukitake looked up from his desk. Clearly, he was feeling well enough to do paperwork. There was a lot of it, though. Byakuya was certain that his third seats did all they could to assist him, but there was only so much that a third seat had the authority to do. For a single captain or vice-captain that was able to work every day, the workload was manageable. For someone like Ukitake…

"Ukitake," he said.

The white-haired captain looked up and smiled. "Ah, Byakuya," he said, "What can I do for you?"

"I wish to rescind my earlier request."

Ukitake tilted his head slightly to the side, a frown on his face.

"Regarding Rukia," clarified Byakuya, taking a step forward towards the captain's desk. Ukitake looked up at him, a serious look in his eye.

"Yes?" he asked.

Byakuya looked his old mentor straight in the eye.

"Give her the rank she deserves."

Ukitake said nothing for a few moments, looking straight into the other noble's eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	7. Ceremony

**A/N: **About Yuzu's class, since first class is the best class, I decided to go ahead and assume that the classes were ranked like that. So Yuzu is in a good class, but not in a class as good as Karin's class. Does that make sense?

Also, I didn't want to make too many OCs for this story, since Bleach has quite a few characters as it is. So I might add in one or two academy students, but not a lot of them.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 7: Ceremony<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Give her the rank she deserves." <em>

* * *

><p>Rukia opened the door to Ukitake-taicho's quarters, wincing as the sliding door scraped against its grooves, making a loud noise. If Ukitake-taicho were asleep, that would certainly have woken him up, and although he had sent a butterfly to the manor last night telling her to come see him in the early morning, she couldn't be sure he would actually be awake to receive her. She didn't begrudge her taicho this. If anything, she hoped he could get as much sleep as he possibly could.<p>

But a part of her was worried. That Ukitake-taicho would summon her, so soon after he had spoken with her brother…She had tried to ask Byakuya about it last night, but her brother had been his usual reticent self. He hadn't answered her question, simply stating that if she wanted to know Ukitake-taicho's business, she could ask him herself.

The captain of the Thirteenth was sitting up in his bed, although even that seemed to take effort from him in times like this, idly picking away at a tray someone—probably Kiyone or Sentaro—had left for him. She bowed.

"Ukitake-taicho," she said, "You wanted to see me?"

"Ah, Rukia-san," said Ukitake, smiling warmly at her. "Have a seat, please."

She did so, withdrawing her zanpakuto from its sash and placing it on the ground beside her as she sat in seiza by his futon.

"You're aware your brother came to see me the other day?" he asked.

Rukia nodded. "We spoke briefly when he came in," she said. "Is this about that?" She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. What had her brother asked Ukitake to do?

"Yes," said Ukitake. He frowned. "Rukia, do you know why you have never been promoted?"

Rukia's eyes widened slightly, before lowering to her clasped hands in her lap. "I have never asked him myself," she said, her face flushing slightly. "However, the rumor is that nii-sama asked you not to promote me."

"Yes," said Ukitake, surprising her. "That is correct." He frowned. "Do you know why?"

"…I always assumed it was because I was not strong enough, and that my poor performance as an officer would besmirch the Kuchiki name." Her fingers curled into small fists in her lap.

"You are wrong." Ukitake's voice was gentle, but firm. "The duties of an officer are much more dangerous than the duties of an unseated shinigami. He didn't want you to get hurt, Rukia-san."

Rukia's eyes widened at that, and she looked up at Ukitake. She knew that her brother cared for her. Over the past few years since her execution, he had shown it to her more. But her brother had never been the type to show anything outwardly, which was why she had never thought of that as the reason she had never been promoted. She looked up at her captain.

"I didn't know that, taicho…" she said.

Ukitake nodded. "Byakuya came to me two days ago with a request," he said. "He told me to give you the rank you deserved."

Rukia's eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment. Ukitake went on. "I have spent most of my time since then considering this," said Ukitake. "The rank that you deserve. You are too good to waste in the ordinary rank-and-file shinigami, so of course, I would make you a seated officer. The question remained, though. What seat do you deserve?"

Rukia stared at Ukitake for a moment as he smiled at her, then quickly bowed her head. "Taicho, please do not strain yourself with this decision. Please place me in the lower seats. Even 20th seat would be an improvement over where I am."

"But Rukia-san…" said Ukitake, causing her to look up. "I must honor your brother's request." He was smiling. "Byakuya did not ask me to place you in the seat you want. He asked me to place you in the seat you _deserve_."

Rukia fell silent, allowing Ukitake to continue. He did so after a short pause, taking a sip of his tea.

"You have improved so much in the time you were here, Rukia," he said. "The person you were forty-five years ago is not the same person that stands in front of me now. Despite your brother wishing to keep you from danger, your career as a shinigami has been more tumultuous than most, and you've escaped death time and again. You've become strong in your own right, and I'm very proud that I had the chance to watch you grow. You've earned the respect of the members of this division, not because of your name, but because of who you are."

"I spent a long while thinking over the rank that you deserve, Rukia-san," he said. "And that is why…" She heard the rustle of cloth as he leaned over, picking up something from his other side.

"…I would be honored if you would accept this, Kuchiki Rukia."

And then he was holding something out to her. Rukia looked down, and her eyes widened, a sharp breath passing through her lips. In his hand, he was holding out something that nobody in the thirteenth division had seen in over three decades—something that the division's newest members had _never _seen. The kanji for thirteen looked straight up at her, and just beneath it, the division's flower, a snowdrop.

It took a while for her mind to process what was happening. Ukitake-taicho was holding the vice-captain badge out to her. _Her_.

"Ukitake-taicho…" she began, when she finally found her voice.

"Becoming my fukutaicho is not easy," said Ukitake. "That's why the position has been open for so long. Because of my illness, my work habits are unpredictable. More often than not, my fukutaicho would find themselves leading the squad on their own. Yamamoto-soutaicho's new regulations, that divisions without a captain may send their vice-captains to the meetings in their place, also means I would require you to attend the meetings I cannot be present for. In a sense, I am asking not only for a vice-captain, but for a capable shinigami who could be a surrogate captain in my absence."

He looked up at her. "I'm not asking this lightly, Rukia," he said. "I believe you can do this. But I want you to understand this."

Rukia stared down at the badge in his hand. Her body felt numb, and her heart pounded in her chest like a scared rabbit. Could she do it? Would she do it, for this man? For Ukitake-taicho and his division? She thought back to the day she had first arrived, how both Ukitake-taicho and Kaien-dono had treated her with kindness, had accepted her because she was Rukia, and not because she was Kuchiki. She thought back to her execution.

Ukitake had been the only captain of the Gotei 13 to stand up for her then. When not even her brother had lifted a finger…

She felt a knot form in her throat, hot tears welling up in her eyes for a reason she couldn't name.

Of course she would do it, if that was what Ukitake-taicho and the Thirteenth required of her. She reached out with shaking hands, her fingers closing around the badge.

"I would be honored…," she said. "…to work with you, Ukitake-taicho."

Her captain looked up at her and smiled.

* * *

><p>Renji stood in his line next to Hinamori, facing Soifon as Yamamoto banged his staff on the ground and called the meeting to order. He tried to keep his eyes on the soutaicho and not glance at the girl next to him. The first time Hinamori had been called to attend the captain's meeting in lieu of a fifth squad captain, he honestly thought the girl was going to faint. Now, though, she managed to hold her ground, standing between him and Komamura as Yamamoto began his address and across from Kyoraku.<p>

"As we are all assembled, let us begin," he said.

Nobody called to attention the fact that the position at the end of the line, beside Zaraki, was empty. Everyone knew that Ukitake Jushiro was sick again, and would not be attending the meeting, and nobody dared to ask.

"I will begin by reporting on my own division. The First Division has accepted several of the academy's students," said Yamamoto. "Sasakibe-fukutaicho tells me they are assimilating well, and we have returned to our full number since the Winter War. Soifon-taicho."

Soifon opened her mouth, about to give her report, when the unthinkable happened.

The door slid open, admitting a single breathless shinigami, who bowed hurriedly to the soutaicho and the assembled captains and vice-captains. Renji turned, his eyes widening.

"My apologies for my lateness," said Rukia, her face flushed and her hair slightly disheveled. She was dressed in her shinigami robes, but what drew his attention was the badge tied around her arm. The badge that had the symbol for the Thirteenth Division on it. "I was only just made aware that I would be attending this meeting in Ukitake-taicho's stead."

"Of course," said Yamamoto, sounding unsurprised even as stunned silence set over the room. "Please, take your position, Kuchiki-fukutaicho."

Renji turned towards his former captain, trying to catch Byakuya's eye. The captain of the Sixth glanced once at his sister as she took her place at the end of the line beside Zaraki, then met Renji's stare coolly.

"_Did you know about this_?" he tried to convey, raising an eyebrow.

If Byakuya saw the question, he did not respond, turning back towards the soutaicho.

"Soifon-taicho," said Yamamoto. "Please continue."

Renji had not seen it, but Rukia had. As she walked over to her position, standing next to the hulking Eleventh Squad Captain, Byakuya looked her way. She saw his eyes on her, coldly appraising as she stood up straight, her hands at her sides and her expression schooled even as her heart was beating in her chest.

He had given her a small, barely noticeable smile before looking away.

And she smiled back.

* * *

><p><em>Oh God, how much longer is he going to talk? <em>thought Karin to herself, trying to sit still in her position at the front of the room as the Academy's head went on and on about their responsibilities as shinigami and what they would learn while they were at this _fine institution _and how they all should congratulate themselves for passing a rigorous testing phase. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had already had to listen to one long-winded entrance exam speech this year.

She craned her neck and looked around, trying to catch sight of Yuzu. Her twin sister was sitting with her classmates, her eyes focused straight ahead on the teacher and her hands in the lap of her red and white academy uniform. The speaker droned on and on and Karin turned away, a scowl on her face.

_Come on, hurry it up already…_she thought.

Finally the Academy's head stopped, looking up at all of them. "Congratulations once again," he said. "This is a great achievement, and you should all be proud of yourselves. Tomorrow, classes will begin. Take this time to explore the academy and meet the people around you, for you never know who will hold your life in their hands someday."

Maybe it was just Karin's imagination, but the applause as he finally stepped down was tinged with a small amount of relief.

* * *

><p>"Thank God that's over," muttered Karin to herself as she and Yuzu walked down the path that led through the Academy grounds, carrying bento boxes that they had received from the cafeteria. Yuzu didn't reply for a moment, and Karin turned her head to see her sister studying a piece of paper.<p>

"What's that?" she asked.

"It was in my room when I came back," said Yuzu with a frown.

"Your class schedule?" asked Karin. The two of them were in separate bedrooms now, but their rooms were across the hall from each other, and were small enough that they couldn't squeeze two people in them even if they wanted to.

"Mm," said Yuzu, nodding.

"Let me see," said Karin, taking it from her. She passed Yuzu another piece of paper. "Here, you can see mine."

She scanned Yuzu's schedule, her eyes going over the classes. They were the same as hers, but at different times, and with different teachers. Renji had been right. Karin's class advisor was Onabara-sensei, and she had a lot of her classes with him.

"We have the same kidou teacher," said Karin.

"And hakuda as well," said Yuzu, looking over Karin's schedule.

"Yeah," said Karin. "Hey, you have Ichibana-sensei first," she said. "Let me know how much of a slavedriver she is."

"I will," said Yuzu, handing her schedule back. Karin found herself relaxing slightly. Now that she had seen Yuzu's timetable, her worries were eased. They were in different classes, but their schedules still ran on the same time and they had the same teachers. They were in different bedrooms, but their rooms were still somewhat connected. So even though they were being separated, it wasn't a complete separation.

That made her feel slightly better about all of this.

"Do you want to eat here?" asked Yuzu, gesturing at a tree. Karin shrugged and the two of them made their way over to it, sitting down. Karin stared down at Yuzu's schedule one last time before handing it back.

"Oi," she said. "You have zanjutsu first thing in the morning. How do you feel about that?"

Yuzu frowned and took her schedule from her sister. "I…I'll have to learn it, I suppose," she said.

"If anyone gives you any trouble, tell me,' said Karin. "I'll give him hell."

Yuzu nodded, sitting down and opening her bento box. Karin opened hers and took a bite of food, looking around at the Academy students that passed by. She froze for a moment, her eyes fixing on one person.

Was it just her, or was that student in a blue uniform glaring at her and her sister?

Before she could confirm it, he looked away, talking with his friends.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	8. Elegant Dragon

**A/N: **Now, I know I said I wouldn't add many OCs, but here's one that's relevant to the plot of this story. Enjoy, and be nice to him, even though he's a jerk. You'll find out why eventually. XD

And yes, the zanjutsu teacher's appearance is based off of Hiko from Rurouni Kenshin, lol.

Next chapter will include some IchiRuki-ness and possibly some insight on Byakuya's decision (if I can squeeze it in there, but don't worry, I plan to explain it eventually.)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 8: Elegant Dragon<strong>

* * *

><p>Karin ran a hand through her hair and sighed, following Yuzu down the hallway away from the cafeteria. She had overslept this morning, and if it hadn't been for Yuzu, she probably would have missed the first day of class entirely. She scratched the back of her neck, making a mental note to ask Ichigo for an alarm clock the next time he visited.<p>

"Did you sleep alright, Karin-chan?" asked Yuzu, a concerned frown on her face.

"Yeah, it was okay," said Karin, shrugging. Last night had been the first night since coming to Soul Society that she and Yuzu had slept in separate rooms. Her room had been quiet, though, so she had been able to fall asleep easily. "You?"

"I slept well," said Yuzu with a smile. "It took me a while to fall asleep though. It always does in a new room." She frowned, stopping in front of a fork in the path. A sign had been tacked onto the wall in front of them, probably to help first years like themselves find the way.

**Lecture Halls-**

**Kido Classrooms- **

**-Training Areas**

**-Practice Fields**

**-Meditation Rooms**

Yuzu frowned. "What do you have first?" she asked.

Karin glanced at the schedule in her hand and grimaced. "Introduction to the Shinigami Arts," she said. "Sounds like a real eye-opener." The last sentence was said with no small amount of sarcasm.

"That's Onabara-sensei's class, though, isn't it?" asked Yuzu. "They probably scheduled it so you meet with your class advisor first."

"Guess so," said Karin. She frowned at the sign. "Anyway, I'm over here," she said, pointing towards the right. "Have fun in zanjutsu."

"I'll try," said Yuzu, raising her hand and waving at Karin. "See you at lunch?"

"Yeah, see you," said Karin. The two of them exchanged a nod, Yuzu turning left and Karin turning right. She glanced at the classroom number on her timetable once before continuing down the hall, looking at the doors.

_108…110…_

She stopped in front of Room 112, opening the door and stepping inside. The room had about thirty students already sitting at one of the seats. Some were talking excitedly with each other, while a few were keeping to themselves, looking around uncertainly. A large bald man stood at the front of the room, watching as students came in.

"Go ahead and take any seat," he said, noticing her standing there. "Fill up the first three rows first."

Karin nodded and walked over to the third row, taking the nearest empty seat, next to a dark-haired boy who had his head turned towards the guy next to him. She sat down, taking out her notebook and placing it on her desk. She lined her pen up next to her notebook too, and only when she had finished her preparations did she notice her seatmate, who was watching her with a look of disdain in his eyes. He had short dark hair and bright blue eyes, almost the color of ice. They were narrowed at her, and his glare was almost challenging.

Her eyes widened slightly in recognition. He was the same boy that had glared at her and Yuzu after the entrance ceremony.

"…What is your _problem_?" she hissed, her eyes narrowing.

He said nothing, studying her for a few moments with an angry look on his face before folding his arms and turning away.

"Alright," said the teacher, attracting everyone's attention. Karin looked up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear with an annoyed look on her face as she turned away from the student.

"Before we start," said Onabara-sensei, "I just wanted to commend all of you for making it into this class. It is a great honor, and you should all be proud of yourselves. However, the hard work is only just beginning. If you continue in this class and graduate, your career as a shinigami is practically guaranteed. As students of this class, you are entitled to use several of the academy's resources not easily accessible to students not in the top classes, and are given special consideration during recruitment. You are one of the few classes whose members, more often than not, get to choose their future division instead of having it chosen for them."

He paused, letting that sink in as he looked over each and every student in the room. "However, as the saying goes, to he who is given much, much is expected. I trust all of you will perform up to the same standards that allowed you to be placed here in the first place. This class has historically contained people from diverse backgrounds, from students from the lowest districts of Rukongai to members of the Four Great Houses in Seireitei. But I trust and expect that you will all treat each other with the utmost level of respect and tolerance. You will have a few classes, such as history, in which this class is combined with the rest of the classes in your year. When that happens, you must all work hard to distinguish yourselves from the rest of the students. Is that understood?"

A chorus of "Hai, sensei!"'s rose up from the assembled students, Karin's voice included. Her seatmate didn't respond out loud, but gave the teacher a stiff nod, his arms still folded.

"I will hold you to your word," said Onabara-sensei, looking down at his class list. "Since this is the first day, I will begin by taking roll. Aikawa Satoshi."

A boy with glasses who sat at the front of the room raised his hand.

"Aoyagi Miyako."

A girl seated at the desk in front of Karin raised her hand. "Hai," she said.

"Ankoujin Masaryu."

The boy next to Karin raised his hand calmly, keeping his eyes fixed on the teacher. For some reason, a hush settled over the room when the teacher said his name. Onabara-sensei didn't seem fazed. He continued down the list, reading off another couple of names.

"Kurosaki Karin."

"Hai," said Karin, raising her hand.

The class erupted into conversation as students wheeled around in their chairs to look at them. One of them—Miyako, the girl in front of Karin—turned towards her. "Are you related to Kurosaki Ichigo?" she asked.

Karin had been expecting this. "He's my brother," she said, giving the girl a flat look.

"That's so cool!" whispered one of the students, in hearing distance of them. "An Ankoujin and Kurosaki Ichigo's sister in the same class, and they're even sitting together!"

She turned towards the voice, her eyes narrowed slightly as she searched for the speaker. From beside her, Masaryu suddenly stood up, gathering his things and calmly walking to another seat. Karin glared at his retreating back, turning her attention back to the teacher. She wouldn't let one bad incident ruin her first day of class. Although she couldn't help wondering what the hell _his _problem was.

* * *

><p>Yuzu opened the sliding door and stepped into the zanjutsu training room marked on her schedule. A group of students were already there-an equal mix of girls and boys. The teacher, a dark-haired man dressed in a white gi and dark green hakama, stood at the front of the room, looking up as she walked in. He wore a katana in a sash around his waist. He looked about in his mid-thirties, although Yuzu guessed that he was probably much, much older, considering how souls aged differently from normal people.<p>

It occurred to her that since she was really only 15 years old, she was probably the youngest person in the class, even though most people looked about her age.

"Name?" asked the teacher, looking up.

"Um, Kurosaki Yuzu," said Yuzu, putting the small bag that held her school supplies down. Her surname turned a few heads, and some of her classmates stopped to look at her. The teacher checked the name off a list, then grunted in acknowledgment, picking up a wooden practice sword from the pile next to him and tossing it off-handedly to her. "Catch," he said.

Yuzu managed to catch the sword in her hands, just barely.

"Lesson one," said the teacher, "Don't throw your sword. It's stupid."

"A-Ano…but sensei…you just…" began Yuzu.

He interrupted her, holding up a second finger. "And lesson two, don't do everything your sensei does." He looked up at the door, where a clock was placed, glancing at the time. "Alright," he said, tossing a sword at the boy that came in just after Yuzu. "Let's get started. Everyone line up. Two lines, in front of me and facing me."

The class moved slowly, getting into their lines and facing the teacher. He stood in front of the class, looking over them.

"My name is Furutani Katsuo," he said. "Before I was a teacher, I held the rank of fifth seat in the Eleventh Division. For those of you that don't know, the Eleventh Division is basically filled with a whole bunch of idiots that don't do anything but fight all day. So, what I do as a zanjutsu teacher in a room full of kids is basically the same thing."

That got a few chuckles out of the class.

"I teach five zanjutsu classes," he said. "The top five classes at this school. For some of you that still haven't looked at your schedules, this is the second class, which means you're all a bunch of overachievers that weren't good enough for first class. Congratulations. You get a special reward for not getting into that class. It's called having a life."

Laughs followed that statement. Yuzu let out a sigh of relief, feeling more at ease as the tension left her back and shoulders.

"I'm the advisor for this class, which means you'll be seeing a lot of me. Also, let me tell you a little about how combat-related classes work at the academy. I'll be your teacher until you graduate. We all get rotated around like that, so that the teachers training you are the ones who know you and your skills best. It'll be the same for your hakuda teachers, but it won't apply to your kidou teachers, because kidou isn't something you can put your own spin on until you're extremely advanced. And if you're that advanced, you don't need to be at this academy. So…" he said. "Let's start with the class."

He reached down towards his sword, pulling it out of his belt. "Who knows what this is called?"

A student at the front row raised his hand. "A sword?" he asked.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Nozawa," said Furutani-sensei. "Can someone else be a little more specific?"

"Ano…a katana?" asked a girl.

Furutani-sansei nodded, but waved his hand in the air, indicating he needed another answer. Yuzu took a deep breath and timidly raised her hand. He turned towards her. "Kurosaki?" he asked.

"Um…a zanpakuto," she said.

"Right," said Furutani-sensei, slipping it back into its place. "This is my zanpakuto. Having one is what marks you as a shinigami. Unlike ordinary swords, we can't make one for you. You have to manifest it yourself by drawing out the power inside you and giving it form. Which is what we're going to work on first. Jinzen is a meditation technique used by shinigami to speak to their zanpakuto spirits. What you guys don't know now is that all of you have your zanpakuto spirits somewhere inside you. You just need to come out and manifest them. So, we'll begin and end class with a short period of _jinzen _every session, and we'll start that in a minute. Look down at the swords I gave you."

Yuzu looked down at the wooden sword in her hands. It was about the length of a katana. She studied it, noticing that the other members of her class were doing the same thing.

"That is yours," said Furutani-sensei. "Since they all look the same, when you get out of this class, you should write your name on it so it doesn't go missing. You will carry it around with you at all times—it will be as much a part of your uniform as your zanpakuto will be when you become a shinigami. You'll also use it to train with until it breaks, or until _I _say you can use an edged weapon. And before you ask, I don't care if you manifest a zanpakuto. You are not using it until _I_ say you can use a bladed weapon. Anyone in this class that touches one of the real swords in the weapons room without my say so is going to get beaten up. Seriously. You have no idea how much paperwork I have to do if one of you manages to lose a couple of fingers. Are we clear?"

"Hai," said the class in chorus.

"Alright," he said. "Let's begin."

* * *

><p>By the time Yuzu left the class, slipping her wooden sword into her sash as Furutani-sensei had instructed, she was exhausted. She had never really been into P.E. as much as her sister had, and unlike her brother, she had never taken any Martial Arts. But it was a good kind of exhausted. Her shoulders were burning in a way that told her she would be sore tomorrow, but the activity had given her a sort of rush, and she found that she liked Furutani-sensei.<p>

"Kurosaki, what class do you have next?" asked a voice from beside her.

"Ano…kidou with Ichibana-sensei," she said, looking at her schedule and turning to the brown-haired girl next to her. The girl had her hair tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes were light blue. Yuzu frowned as she tried to remember her name. "It was…Iwase-san, right?"

"Yeah," said the girl. "But you can call me Kohaku."

"Then, Kohaku-san, please call me Yuzu," said Yuzu with a smile.

"Alright then, Yuzu," said Kohaku, grinning. "It looks like we're both going to the same kidou class."

"Well, we're in the same class, so it's expected," said Yuzu, glancing down at her schedule.

"I guess so," said Kohaku. "I just haven't been in something like this before."

"You mean a school?" asked Yuzu, frowning as she looked at the other girl.

"Yeah," said Kohaku. "Wasn't anything like this in my district."

"Your district?" repeated Yuzu.

"Yeah," said Kohaku. "District 67, Northern Rukongai. What about you? Where are you from?"

"Ano…" said Yuzu. "…I actually…up until two months ago, I was in the world of the living."

"What?" asked Kohaku, blinking in surprise. "You mean you just died?"

"More or less," said Yuzu. "I've been staying in Seireitei with Ku—with some of my brother's friends," she amended. She decided it was better that it not become common knowledge that she and Karin had lived at the Kuchiki Manor and spoke casually with captains.

"Your brother?" asked Kohaku, frowning.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," said Yuzu. Kohaku didn't seem to recognize the name. She guessed that word hadn't spread that far. The 67th District was pretty far away from Seireitei, after all. "He's a shinigami…"

Her shoulder suddenly caught someone else's and she turned around quickly, about to apologize. The boy she had bumped into didn't even turn around, continuing to walk. Yuzu stopped mid-turn, staring at him. From beside her, Karin pulled up.

"Hey! Ankoujin!" she shouted. "At least apologize, damn it!"

No response. Yuzu turned towards her sister. Kohaku had watched with concern for a moment, before going along with the rest of the class. Karin muttered a curse under her breath, then turned towards Yuzu.

"He's a jerk," she muttered. "Sorry."

"No problem," said Yuzu. "Heading to zanjutsu now?"

"Yeah," said Karin, glancing at the wooden sword that hung from Yuzu's waist. "I'm guessing it was a good class."

"It was pretty good," said Yuzu. She glanced at the clock. "I have to run to kido, but I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you," said Karin, nodding. "We'll meet up for lunch."

Yuzu nodded, heading down the hall. Karin looked up at the crowd of academy students moving down the hallways. "Hey! Ankoujin! Wait up!" she called, running down towards him.

* * *

><p>Hitsugaya Toshiro, captain of the tenth division, sat at his desk, signing off on another form. His lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku, wasn't in today, having taken about half of the seated officers on a training exercise and leaving him alone in the office with the papers. Still, he supposed, the fact that Matsumoto was actually working was an improvement. He paused, studying the form again. Outside his office, the members of his division were at work, sparring and exchanging messages. He kept his ears open, listening for any sound that might be out of the ordinary, but he heard nothing.<p>

"Yo! Toshiro!"

The sound of his office door opening made him look up.

"Karin," he said, watching as the academy student and her sister entered his office. He frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Class ended an hour ago, Hitsugaya-kun…" said Yuzu, frowning slightly. Toshiro's eyes widened and he glanced at the clock. True enough, it was already late in the afternoon.

"Sheesh, how long have you _been _in here?" asked Karin, frowning at him.

"Long enough," he said, rubbing at a crick in his neck. "I've been doing paperwork."

Karin glanced at one of the complicated forms and grimaced. "Don't you have a vice-captain to do this crap for you?" she asked.

"Matsumoto's on a training exercise," explained Toshiro, putting some of the completed forms away. "What are you two doing here?"

"Visiting you," said Karin.

"Abarai-taicho and some others are taking Rukia-nee out to celebrate her promotion," explained Yuzu. "We were invited and Ichi-nii is coming too, but it's not for another couple of hours."

"So we thought we'd drop by," said Karin. "Since we missed you the last time." She glanced at the papers again. "And it's a good thing we did, too," he said. "Or you'd _still_ be doing paperwork."

"I lost track of time," said Toshiro. "How was class?"

"Good," said Yuzu.

"Good enough," said Karin. "There was this one jerk in my class, though. I wanted to hit him by the end of the day."

"What was his name?" asked Toshiro.

"Ankoujin Masaryu," repeated Karin, saying the name as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. Toshiro looked up.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Karin. "Why? You know him?"

Toshiro shook his head. "Not personally, but I know his name. He's the grandson of Ankoujin Ryushin, the head of the Ankoujin Clan. They're one of the Four Great Houses. His grandfather used to be the Captain of the Ninth Division, but he was promoted to the Royal Guard. His father isn't a shinigami, but he's next in line to inherit, and Ankoujin Masaryu's his only son."

"Figures," said Karin, folding her arms. "That explains everything. He's even more annoying than Kuchiki. And he had it out for me and Yuzu for some reason." Karin scratched the back of her head.

"Well, the Noble Houses were involved in the _ryoka _incident," said Toshiro. "Maybe he feels insulted because you're the sisters of the substitute shinigami."

"Well, noble or not, he better watch out," grumbled Karin. "I'm gonna kick his ass. Just wait until we get to spar with each other."

Toshiro sighed. "I'm not going to have to get Kurosaki to bail you out, am I?"

Karin glared at him, folding her arms. "What are you saying?" she asked. "That I can't handle it without Ichi-nii?"

Toshiro sighed. "That's not what I said," he said, looking up as a knock came at the door to his office. Yuzu turned her head, frowning and looking at it. "Come in," said Toshiro.

The door slid open, and his third and fourth seats walked in. "Taicho," said his third seat, "We need permission to open the training yard for a spar."

"Sure," said Toshiro, frowning at them. His eyes narrowed as they turned around to leave, a wave of suspicion suddenly running through him as the temperature in the room lowered a few degrees. Karin stepped back, and Yuzu stared.

"Wait one second," he said. "Weren't you on a training exercise with Matsumoto-fukutaicho?"

The two of them exchanged confused glances. "A training exercise?" his third seat asked.

"What training exercise?" asked his fourth seat.

His fists clenched tightly and began to shake, his eye twitching. Behind him lay the pile of paperwork he had spent all day completing, half of which wasn't even his own.

"MATSUMOTO!"

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: <strong>

[1] Ankoujin Masaryu- (暗鋼刃 雅竜) Ankoujin means 'dark steel blade'. Masaryu means 'elegant dragon'.

I used a certain theme to name this house. I was looking at the names of the current noble houses, and noticed something. Remember, there were five great houses before the Shiba Clan fell. Three are named in Bleach—Kuchiki, Shiba, Shihouin. I ran the kanji making up their names through a dictionary and noticed I could connect the names to the 5 Chinese Elements.

Wood: Kuchiki (decaying tree)

Water: Shiba (kind wave)

Earth: Shihouin (four maple palace)

So…

Metal: Ankoujin (dark steel blade)

Fire: ?

Just in case anyone was curious.


	9. The most difficult decision

**A/N: **This chapter focuses mainly on IchiRuki, although the twins do make an appearance. It hints towards Ishihime as well, although mostly in Rukia's head. Also, those of you who are observant should be able to guess what's going on with Ichigo by now, even though it isn't directly stated in this chapter.

**bcsaturdai, **I'm not doing a complete time skip and skipping them entirely, because some things that happen during the academy are important, but neither am I going to specifically go through each year. I'll just hit the milestones. (I'm really excited to get to the good stuff, divisions, pairings, and zanpakuto, but ground work has to be laid first.)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 9: The most difficult decision<strong>

* * *

><p>"Congratulations to Kuchiki Rukia-fukutaicho, for making the biggest rank jump in Seireitei history without killing someone," said Matsumoto with a grin, raising her sake cup. "Kanpai!"<p>

"_Kanpai!" _chorused the rest of the room, raising their cups as well. The room filled with the sound of applause.

"Congratulations, Kuchiki," said Uryu once the toast ended and people began talking to each other again. He was standing in front of her, a parcel wrapped in brown paper in his hand. The Quincy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the light reflecting off them. He was dressed in a new Quincy outfit, one that he had probably sewn himself. Beside him stood Inoue Orihime, dressed in a light blue blouse and a white skirt. She was carrying a paper bag with her, its handles clasped in both hands as she held it out in front of her. She smiled.

"Congratulations, Kuchiki-san," she said. "Or should I say Kuchiki-fukutaicho?"

"Ah, thank you, Ishida, Inoue," said Rukia. Unlike the other two, she was still wearing her shihakusho, her vice-captain badge tied around her arm. She still felt slightly awkward about her new rank. People had been congratulating her about it for the past two days, but it was taking a little getting used to. Especially since the new recruits expected her to know what she was doing.

"This is for you," said Uryu, handing over the parcel. She accepted it with both hands, tearing open the wrapping and frowning. Inside of it was a casual sleeveless white dress, the sort of thing she would wear while in the human world. She frowned and turned it over. Her face fell when she saw the back of it, her fingers twitching. The back of the dress had one huge Quincy cross on it. Uryu pushed his glasses up again and raised a finger. "The fabric is light and perfect for wearing in the summer, and the cut is modest enough for someone of your status and personality."

Rukia's eye twitched. Inoue smiled, and handed over the paper bag she was holding. "And I baked you some of my famous peanut butter, red bean paste, hot and spicy chocolate chip cookies!" she said. "I hope you like them!"

She paled at the description, accepting the paper bag with her free hand and lowering her eyes to the ground. "I pity your future children…" she muttered.

"Hmm, what did you say?" asked Uryu, looking up. Orihime frowned. "I didn't catch that," she said.

"Nothing, nothing," said Rukia, looking up and shaking her head and putting on her biggest smile. "Ano…I'll just leave these here until the party's over!" _And conveniently forget them on the way out…_she added silently to herself as she put the presents in the corner. "Please, help yourself to more food and drinks!"

She remained there, frozen for a few moments as Uryu and Orihime left to greet other people. Once they were gone, she let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping forward.

_That was close…_she thought, running a hand through her hair.

She frowned, looking around. The party had just started to kick off, and it looked like everyone was enjoying themselves. She smiled, taking note of Karin baiting Renji, while Yuzu and Hitsugaya—who had shown up earlier just to scold Matsumoto for abandoning him during work hours and had ended up staying at Karin's request—looked on and sweatdropped. The twins were easy to pick out thanks to their red and white academy uniforms. It looked like they were adapting well to life in Soul Society. That was a good thing.

"AH, MY LOVELY DAUGHTERS!"

Isshin's voice rang out over everyone else's as she rushed at them, his shihakusho trailing behind him. As Rukia watched, Karin sidestepped his rush, her leg swinging around as she kicked him to the ground. She stomped on him, her foot on the small of his back. "Don't embarrass us like that, baka-oyaji!"

She smiled, and her eyes drifted away from him and over the rest of the room, where people were sitting down. Rukia frowned. Ichigo was sitting at one of the chairs with a dark look on his face, holding his cup loosely in one hand as he studied the crowd. She blinked, then crept up behind him.

"Hey, Ichigo," she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

He jumped about three feet in the air, spilling the sake in his cup and turning around to face her angrily. "Don't sneak up on me like that, midget!"

"My name isn't midget," said Rukia, folding her arms. "It's Ru-ki-a. Or Rukia-fukutaicho. Or even Rukia-sama."

"Like hell!" said Ichigo, glaring at her. She glared back.

"Aw, how sweet," said Matsumoto, grinning as she walked over to them. "Relationship issues?"

"We are not a couple!" they said at the same time, turning towards her.

"Yet," said Matsumoto.

They both gave her flat looks. "I think Ichigo might break your record soon, though, Rukia-chan~," she said, her smile becoming slightly more evil. She leaned forward, fluffing up Ichigo's hair slightly, and at the same time pressing the back of his head against her…erm…assets.

Ichigo flushed. It lasted about a moment before his eyes narrowed and he turned around, his arm lashing out towards her. "Oi! I never said I was going to do anything yet!" he said. Matsumoto jumped out of his reach, a grin on her face as she went to go find someone else to pick on. Rukia frowned, watching as Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, his face still slightly red.

"Sheesh…that woman…" he muttered. He turned towards Rukia. "Oh, congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks," said Rukia. She frowned. Something that Matsumoto had said…"You were thinking about that, weren't you?" she asked.

Ichigo blinked at her for a moment, before nodding his head. "Yeah," he said. "After next week, I'll only have half a year left to figure it out."

"Do you think you're closer to deciding now?" asked Rukia, glancing at the other shinigami in the room.

"I've been thinking about it more, yeah," said Ichigo. He hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "I think I'm gonna accept. After all, Yuzu and Karin are here. There really isn't that much for me to do…over there, you know."

She sensed something else coming. When he didn't say anything, she prompted him. "But?" she asked.

Ichigo shrugged. He sat back down in his seat. Without waiting for an invitation, Rukia took the seat across from him. "Don't know if I can do it, I guess," he said. "And I don't know if I want to. I don't exactly have the best history with the Gotei 13."

"Well, I guarantee you'll never be any worse than your predecessor," said Rukia, smirking slightly.

Ichigo glanced at her for a moment, before giving her a small grin. "There's that," he said, taking the last sip from his cup and setting it down. "So…fukutaicho," he said, turning towards her. She sensed the change in topic and decided not to pursue the previous one. "How's that going?" he asked.

"It's…" She paused suddenly, listening as an outburst between Sentaro and Kiyone escalated. "…It's going," she said, sighing at the end of her sentence. "It's taking a little getting used to."

"_Kuchiki-fukutaicho likes me better!" _

"_No, she likes __**me **__better!" _

Ichigo glanced at them and scowled. "Well," he said. "Looks like they like you."

"I can't tell if they're competing for my attention or if they just like competing," replied Rukia, sighing and refilling the empty cup in her hand. She took a sip. Ichigo frowned down at her.

"Oi…" he said. "You sure you should be doing that?"

She frowned, looking up. "What do you mean?" she asked. "It's my party."

"Well…" said Ichigo. "You know…you're kind of…" She raised an eyebrow, silently telling him to continue.

"…small," he finished, looking down at her.

Rukia's eye twitched. The next thing Ichigo knew, he was seeing stars as she drove her fist into his face.

"Oi, what was that for?" he yelled, leaning forward towards her.

"Hmph," said Rukia, turning away from him. "I know my limits."

"Just don't want to have to bring you home drunk," said Ichigo, rubbing at his head. "Byakuya'll skin me and Renji alive." He frowned, looking around. "He's not here, is he?"

"No," said Rukia, "He's not. I invited him, but nii-sama said he would just see me when I got home."

The sound of footsteps running towards her drew her attention and she looked up, watching as Karin ran over, grabbing onto Ichigo's arm. "Hey!" she said, dragging him away. "Get over here! You haven't spent any time with us all evening, damn it!" Yuzu stood just over Karin's shoulder, giving Rukia a sheepish smile as her twin sister dragged Ichigo away.

"Hey, hold on a second!" said Ichigo.

Karin frowned and tentatively released him. He turned towards her. "Rukia," he said.

"Hmm?" asked Rukia, looking up at him.

Ichigo stared at her for a moment, as if he was going to say something. He met her eyes, keeping up eye contact for a few moments. Rukia stared at him, waiting expectantly.

He turned around. "Nothing," he said. "Never mind."

_What was that all about? _she thought, frowning slightly as Karin dragged Ichigo away.

She reached her hand up to her face, wondering for a moment why it was so warm.

* * *

><p>Karin walked ahead in silence, kicking at a loose stone in front of her. It skittered along the pathway through Seireitei, bouncing against another rock and against the wall of the building they were walking past before exploding in a small burst of reiatsu. Toshiro watched it fall with a frown, remembering the soccer ball that Karin had infused with her reiatsu the first time they met. The academy student placed her hands on the back of her head, turning towards him.<p>

"You didn't have to walk me back," she said. "I know the way."

He shrugged. "My division is down the same route, so it's not too out of the way," he said. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with your father?"

Karin grimaced, remembering the scene Isshin had made after Ichigo left to drop Yuzu off at the academy. The other girl had been tired out from her first day, and was practically falling asleep at the table. She made a face, remembering the even _bigger _scene Isshin had made when she walked out on him.

"_My Yuzu is so grown up!" _he had wailed, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks.

"_Okay, that's it! I'm leaving!" _said Karin. _"Oi, Toshiro! Let's get out of here!" _

The captain was one of the few sober people left at this point, aside from an increasingly frustrated looking Rukia, a nervous Hinamori Momo, and Orihime.

"_MY KARIN IS LEAVING WITH A MAN!" _yelled Isshin as they left, pointing dramatically at them. That had earned him a solid kick in the face from the soccer player.

It served him right for taking up Matsumoto's challenge for a drinking contest. Half the officers of Seireitei would probably be waking up with killer hangovers the next day, and there was no telling what the Third and Ninth were going to do, considering by the time it was over, Abarai, Kira, and Hisagi were all under the table, and her dad was blubbering like an idiot. Ishida had gone down in the second round, and Ichigo—who had shown up late but was dragged into the contest as soon as he arrived by Renji pushing his 'Are you afraid to lose?' button—was passed out in the corner by the fifth.

Part of her should have been concerned about how her family would get home after that, but really, if they were going to get hammered, then it was their own damn business how they would get home.

"Never mind," said Toshiro at the look Karin was giving him for even suggesting that she might want to stay there.

"I have class tomorrow anyway," said Karin, folding her arms. "And I'm not falling asleep on day two."

"Nice that you're serious about this," said Toshiro, frowning at her.

Karin shrugged indifferently. "I've gotta be strong, right?" she muttered, causing Toshiro to look up.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She shrugged again. "Nothing special." There was something about the way she said it that told him there was more to the story, but he didn't press her for it. After a few more steps, Karin sighed.

"So…thanks for coming with me," she said. "I know you wanted to come to tell off Matsumoto, but thanks for sticking around."

Toshiro shrugged, looking away and placing a hand on the side of his head. "It's not a big deal," he said. "I had the chance to talk to Hinamori."

Karin frowned, hugging her arms close to her chest slightly as she looked away. Toshiro had spent most of the evening that he wasn't spending yelling at his vice-captain talking with the fifth squad vice-captain. It wasn't really that she could blame him for that. She had heard from Matsumoto that he and Hinamori were friends. Besides, if she were Hinamori's friend, she would have been concerned too. The girl had looked a little worse for the wear. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked like she hadn't been sleeping much as it was. She definitely looked more stressed out than Hisagi, even though they were both running their divisions alone.

Matsumoto had explained that Hinamori was very close to Aizen before he betrayed them, and his betrayal had hurt her a lot. There was more to the story, but in one of her rare serious moments, Matsumoto told her that Toshiro would have to tell her the rest himself.

"You should have walked her home then," she said, not looking up. "She looked like she needed it more. And besides, I'll be fine."

She couldn't explain why, but when she had watched the two of them together, it felt as if someone was stepping on her chest. It had only lasted a moment, though, before she got dragged into another stupid game by her father.

Toshiro shook his head. "Hinamori is a fully capable vice-captain," he said. "She doesn't need protection."

Karin's eyes narrowed at the implication. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, looking up. "That I can't get back by myself?"

"You're an academy student," he said, frowning at her. "And Seireitei isn't perfect. Anything could happen. It's not smart to take chances, that's all."

"It's not that far of a walk," she said. "And it's not a big deal. Most academy students get through without any problem."

"Well, _most _academy students don't have a brother with a list of enemies longer than Ichimaru's bankai," said Toshiro, turning towards her. "Karin, stop being so stubborn." he asked, his eyes narrowing icily.

"I'm not a member of your division," she said. "You don't get to order me around!"

"You're still an academy student, and I'm still a captain of the Gotei 13!" His voice came out a little sharper than he had intended, and he turned towards her, his eyes narrowed.

She glared at him. "I may not be a captain or vice-captain, but I'm _not _weak, Toshiro!" she said. Where was this coming from? She had no idea, but it felt like everything she had been holding back for the past few months was starting to leak out, little by little. "I can get home on my own!"

He didn't know where this was coming from, but at that moment the image returned to him, as if it had been burned in the back of his mind.

What Isshin and Ichigo probably didn't know was that he had gone back to the clinic before heading to the shop that night.

It slipped out of his mouth, before he even realized what he was saying. And for a few moments, he almost thought he could see the words hanging in the air between them, could see himself futilely trying to grab them and take them back.

"Yeah, because that worked out _so _well the last time."

Her hand whirled around, heading towards the side of his face. Out of reflex, he caught it, his hand catching her wrist. Karin looked up at him, breathing hard. Her eyes were on fire as she glared at him, an angry look on her face.

No. There was more than anger in her eyes. There was something else there, quickly covered up. Toshiro's eyes widened as he saw it.

Pain.

He hadn't meant it like that. Not that way.

"Karin…" he said, releasing her hand. She pulled it back. "Listen…"

She straightened up stiffly, and for a moment, the scowl on her face reminded him of her brother. She was glowing slightly. Her hand had been coated with pale blue reiatsu. His fingers burned slightly from where he had grabbed it.

The look in her eyes was worse. She looked…betrayed. She had the same look in her eyes that Hinamori had had, the night she believed he killed Aizen.

"I…" he began.

Karin raised her hand, cutting him off. "I'll see you around, Hitsugaya-taicho," she said stiffly, turning around and walking down the street.

He never would have thought his name and rank—things he valued that highly—could ever sound so much like an insult.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	10. A scheme is set

**A/N: **Slight time skip of a couple of weeks for this chapter. After I finish the Hitsukarin drama, I'm going to make a bigger skip of a couple of months, so we can resolve the issue of Ichigo's decision. ^_^ Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter or who supports this story. I don't say this enough, but I really appreciate it. I wish I could respond to all of your reviews individually, but that would take time off from actually _writing _the chapter.

Part of this chapter is for one of my reviewers. I make no promises, but I do listen to your reviews, so enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 10: A scheme is set<strong>

* * *

><p>Karin raised her arm, blocking Masaryu's strike. Her eyes narrowed and she swung her hand around, aiming a strike towards his head. He blocked it easily, his cool blue eyes watching her. Karin grit her teeth in frustration and brought up her left hand, balling it up into a fist and aiming a punch at Masaryu's gut. The noble heir jumped back and twisted his body to the side before he was struck. He raised his hand, his wrist connecting with Karin's ankle as she twisted her entire body around to kick him in the side of his head. His eyes narrowed, an angry scowl on his face as he lunged forward and struck at her.<p>

"Kurosaki! Ankoujin! I said practice the three basic strikes _only!" _shouted their hakuda teacher, Senda Sayuri, as Karin's fist connected with Masaryu's shoulder.

Masaryu ignored her, reaching up with his right hand and rubbing at the shoulder Karin had struck. He caught her eyes for one moment before rushing forward. His elbow clipped her jaw as she jumped back, and Karin's eyes narrowed dangerously. She ran forward with a shout, sending her fist straight at his face.

"Oi! Break it up!" shouted Senda-sensei from somewhere in the distance. Masaryu ignored her, ducking under her strike and sweeping the ground with a kick that Karin had to jump over.

"Bakudo 1: Sai!"

Before the two of them knew what was happening, their arms suddenly locked behind their backs, and they fell forward, their faces pressing against the grass of the practice field. The two of them looked up at the same time as an angry Senda-sensei stepped between them, her hands on her hips. She was a small dark-haired woman, who, according to her introduction on the first day of class, had been a member of the Second Division under Shihouin Yoruichi over a century ago before she had been invited to teach hakuda at the Academy.

Her eyes narrowed at the two of them.

"When I say stop, I expect you to _stop_," she said. "And I don't care what the hell your problems are. If you have issues with each other, don't be stupid enough to go at it in front of your teacher."

She looked up at the rest of the class. Karin couldn't see them, since the kido spell was still in effect. She looked across from her, glaring at Masaryu. He glared back. "Class dismissed!" said Senda-sensei, before turning back down to the two of them. "You two report to my office at five A.M. sharp tomorrow morning. Maybe I can teach you a lesson about ignoring your teachers." She raised her hand, breaking the kido spell. At once, the two of them fell over, no longer supported by Sai's invisible ropes.

Karin picked herself up off the ground, wiping the sweat from her forehead and brushing the grass off her red hakama. Masaryu picked himself up as well, turning around and ignoring her.

"Tch," she said, giving him a final glare before walking away, towards the tree where she had placed her things. She picked up the container of water she had left there, taking a swig from it before emptying the rest out over her head. The sun shone above, warm on her skin as a soft breeze stirred the air.

"Karin-chan!"

She looked up to see Yuzu running over to her, her pack slung over one shoulder and her wooden practice sword at her side. She had a look of concern on her face. "Everything alright?" she asked, pointing at a bruise on Karin's cheek.

Karin frowned and rubbed at the sore spot. "I got into a fight with Ankoujin," she said, shrugging.

"Eh?" asked Yuzu, looking up and past Karin at the noble in question. Masaryu glanced once at her from the other end of the field, catching her eyes for a moment before looking away. Her twin looked towards her sister, still concerned. "You did that in front of Senda-sensei?" she asked.

Karin shrugged. "I have to see her at five in the morning tomorrow," she said, capping the container of water before tossing it onto the ground. "That bastard started it anyway." It still made her blood boil when she thought of it. How dare he say something like that to her? Didn't he realize what a nightmare that night had been?

Who needed him anyway? He could just go back to his Hinamori-chan.

It took her a moment to realize she wasn't thinking about Masaryu anymore. Her fists clenched, before she looked up at Yuzu.

"So…doing anything now?" she asked.

Yuzu shook her head. "Nothing much," she said. "I did all my homework for history last night. Do you want to go to the Tenth?"

Karin tensed at Yuzu's question and looked away. "No way in hell," she said, folding her arms.

"Come on, Karin-chan, you can't still be mad…" said Yuzu. "It's been two weeks…"

Yuzu had noticed something was off from the moment Karin saw her the next morning. And being her twin sister, it wasn't hard for her to pry the truth out of the other girl. Karin rolled her eyes.

"He needs to apologize for what he said first," said Karin. "Then _maybe_ I'll forgive him."

That was another thing that got her annoyed. For two weeks, she hadn't seen Toshiro anywhere. It was like he was conveniently making it so that no matter where she was, he wouldn't be there.

Well, that was fine. If he wasn't man enough to apologize to her, then she didn't care about him. Yuzu's face fell.

"Look, Yuzu," said Karin. "I just…need to work on this on my own, alright."

"A-Alright," said Yuzu, frowning at her.

* * *

><p>Matsumoto Rangiku gave a heavy sigh, lowering her head to the desk and running her hand through her orange hair. Hitsugaya-taicho barely looked up from the desk on the other side of the room, his pen moving over the papers almost mechanically as he did paperwork. The Tenth Division had been extremely <em>boring <em>ever since Rukia's promotion party. The day after that, she had come to work hung over at three in the afternoon, fully expecting a tongue lashing from the young captain. But he had just pointed her over to her desk without a word, not even looking up.

What fun was there in work if she couldn't even torture her captain every day?

"_Taichoooo…_" she whined. "I'm soooo tired of working. I'm gonna take my break now…"

She stood up, expecting movement from Hitsugaya, or even a change in expression at least. She got…nothing.

"Did you hear me, taicho?" she asked. "I'm going to take a break!"

His eyes moved over the next form and he signed it, stacking it on the pile next to him. Matsumoto twitched, running a hand through her hair again.

"Taicho!" she said. "I'm going to leave the office and go out drinking with Izuru and Shuhei!"

Hitsugaya didn't even look up. Matsumoto sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she turned towards the door. She placed her hand on it.

"Matsumoto."

The voice from behind her made her perk up, turning towards him. She knew it! She knew her captain wasn't completely gone!

"Send Takase in on your way out."

Her face fell. "Hai…taicho," she said, stepping out of the office and closing the door behind her. She sighed, leaning her head back against the door. Alright. Enough was enough. Something needed to be done.

"Matsumoto-san?"

She blinked at the voice, looking up. Kurosaki Yuzu stood in front of her, a frown on her face and her hands clasped together in front of her academy uniform. Matsumoto straightened up and looked around, but there was no sign of her twin. She looked back at Yuzu.

"If you're here to see the taicho, don't bother," she said. "He's in a bad mood."

"Yeah, I…kind of guessed," said Yuzu, frowning and looking away. "Actually, I…"

She frowned at the younger girl, taking note the uncertainty and worry in her expression. Her mind went back to how Hitsugaya had been for the past two weeks. It didn't take a genius to start putting two and two together.

"Let me guess," she said, with a slow grin. "Karin-chan?"

Yuzu's silence was answer enough. Matsumoto walked up to her, placing her hand on the girl's back and turning them around so that they were facing the exit. "Come on," she said. "Let's talk outside."

* * *

><p>"So that's what happened," said the Tenth Division vice-captain, looking down at the ground below them. The two of them were sitting on the wall that overlooked the barracks, their legs hanging over the side. It had taken some work getting Yuzu up there, but the youngest Kurosaki was really starting to show improvement in that area. It wouldn't surprise Rangiku if she grew to be as scary as her brother was and as her sister was shaping up to be. "I wondered why he was so upset after that party."<p>

"Yeah…" said Yuzu. She frowned, staring down at her clasped hands. "Um…I really wasn't supposed to tell you, but I'm worried about Karin-chan, so…"

"It's alright," said Rangiku, raising her hand. "I'm glad you did. At least I know what's wrong with the taicho." She frowned, rubbing her chin thoughtfully with her hand. "Hmm…so Karin won't come over until he apologizes…but taicho's really bad at things like this, so he isn't just going to go up and apologize to her…"

"…It would be so much easier if they weren't so stubborn…" muttered Yuzu, looking down at her hands. "I know they could clear this up if they just _talked _about it…"

"Well isn't that the truth," said Matsumoto with a grin. "So since neither of them are going to bend enough to go see each other and apologize…we need to make a situation where the two of them run into each other."

"Eh?" asked Yuzu, looking up sharply. "How do we do that?"

"Leave that to me," said Rangiku with a grin, an idea suddenly coming to her. She leaned backwards and looked down at the Tenth Division yard behind them. "Hey! Iguchi!"

Her fourth seat looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun and frowning at her. "Matsumoto-fukutaicho?" he asked.

"I forget, whose turn was it to take the first years on their division tours this year?"

Iguchi frowned. "Hmm…well, the Eighth did it last year, so this year it's Hisagi-fukutaicho and the Ninth Division."

Rangiku grinned. "Perfect," she said. She turned towards Yuzu. "Come on," she said, jumping down from the wall and landing on the street.

Yuzu looked down at the drop in front of her, her expression uncertain. At Matsumoto's nod, she took a deep breath, pushing off from the wall with her hand and jumping down. She landed in a crouched position, frowning as she noticed that the fall didn't hurt as much as it would have if she had jumped from that height while she was alive. She stared down at the ground with a confused look on her face.

"Being a shinigami has its advantages," said Rangiku, grinning at her. "Next you can work on shunpo."

"I think I'm a long way off from that," said Yuzu with a small smile. "Ano…where are we going, Matsumoto-san?"

"Call me Rangiku," she said. "And we're heading to the Ninth Division."

She placed her arm around the girl's head, guiding her down the street.

* * *

><p>Hisagi Shuhei of the Ninth Division stared down at the pile of paper in front of him, sighing. A lot of his contributors had been slacking off on sending him their columns, and the lack of creativity from his writers was starting to make this month's issue of Seireitei Communication starting to look a little on the boring side. After all, if his only contributor for the month was Kuchiki-taicho's <em>All About Etiquette <em>column and Soifon-taicho's _The Road to Assassination_…

He didn't even want to think of how badly their ratings would fall if he couldn't find something interesting to use for the magazine.

"Oh, Shuuuuuheeeeiiiii~"

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, looking up as the door opened. He knew who it was, of course, and he was hoping she didn't want to drink tonight, because he had a deadline coming up. But maybe Matsumoto would have something interesting to tell him. She always did know the best gossip around Seireitei.

The door opened and she walked in, dragging an academy student with her by the hand. He blinked, looking from her to the student. She looked slightly familiar. He remembered seeing her at Kuchiki-fukutaicho's promotion party. The vice-captain released her hand, and she gave him a slightly awkward bow, which he returned with a nod of his head.

"Is this one of Kurosaki's sisters?" he asked.

"Hai," said Matsumoto, with a grin. "This is Kurosaki Yuzu. We need a favor from you."

He frowned at her. This could go nowhere good.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You know how you're going to start taking Academy students around on tours of the division, right?" she asked. "Starting with the first three classes?"

"Yeah…" he said, nodding. The division tours were a long standing tradition at the Academy, to show first years what shinigami life was like. They rotated through the divisions year after year. This year, it was the Ninth's turn. "What about it?"

"Well…" said Matsumoto. "The thing is, it would be _really _nice if you made up some excuse for not being here on the first day and sent the first three classes to the Tenth instead."

The girl—Kurosaki Yuzu—blinked and turned towards the vice-captain, a look of understanding on her face. "Rangiku-san…" she said. Matsumoto winked at her, then turned back towards him. "What do you say?" she asked.

He frowned. It didn't seem like such a big deal, but when it came to Matsumoto, it was always nice to have a healthy amount of suspicion. Especially when she was asking for something that would potentially give her _more _work instead of less. "Why?" he asked.

"Oh, no reason~" said Matsumoto with a small laugh. She clasped her hands together, leaning forward. "_Please_, Shuhei? Pretty please? Just this once?"

He sighed. "Okay," he said. "I guess we could think of something."

"Thank you!" said Matsumoto. She lunged forward, giving him a hug that ended up smothering his face with…well, you get the picture. Het out a muffled 'mmph!', pushing away from her and gasping for breath. "In return, Yuzu-chan will stay here and help you out!"

"_Eh?_" asked Yuzu and Shuhei at the same time, turning towards her. Matsumoto grinned, patting the academy student on the head and ruffling her hair. "See you later, Yuzu-chan! Shuhei!" she said.

In a flash, she was gone, a gust of wind moving through the door that slid into his office. The girl blinked, then smoothed out her hair, turning towards him.

"Um…" she began, an uncertain look on her face.

He frowned at her, then looked towards the open door. An idea occurred to him, and he looked up at her. "Kurosaki-san," he said, making her look up at him.

"Yes, Hisagi-fukutaicho?" she asked.

"…Can you write?"

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	11. Don't make me feel that again

**A/N: **Well, I see you guys enjoyed my experiment. I'll admit, the more I thought of it, the more I thought it might make a good pairing. We'll see how it goes. I won't make any promises yet, because I'm still unsure how well it'll work.

**sayo-chan64, rokachuu **was right, Karin was actually thinking of Toshiro and projecting her feelings onto Masaryu. He didn't actually say anything to her…yet. Sorry that was unclear. Thanks for helping, **rokachuu! **

**Blaze on, **you're very welcome. I did enjoy writing it!

**Moonlight's Shadow Warrior, **Karin wouldn't have broken the kido spell even if she could, because that would just make the teacher angry, and you don't make your teachers angry when they can kill you with their eyes closed. It's like when your parent grabs your arm. You can get out of it, but you know that that's not the point of it. It was the teacher exerting her authority over them.

**Hakkuchi – **Don't worry. Byakuya won't be written out of the story even if I did pair up Yuzu and Shuhei, because he's kind of crucial to a certain aspect of character development for Yuzu that should be coming out soon.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 11: "Don't make me feel that again…"<strong>

* * *

><p>Yuzu rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned, tucking a stray strand of dark blond hair behind her ear as she slid open the door that led into her zanjutsu classroom…<p>

…and was greeted by every single one of her classmates looking up and turning their heads towards her. She blinked.

"Eh?" she said in confusion as they all rushed towards her, carrying brightly colored issues of Seireitei Communication in their hand.

"Kurosaki, why didn't you tell us you were writing for Seireitei Communication?" asked one of them.

"Um…I…"

"Did you get to talk to Hisagi-fukutaicho?"

"Well, I—."

"Was he nice?"

"He was—."

"How did you get your story in?"

"I—."

"Yuzu-chan! You didn't tell me a thing!"

"Well, Kohaku-chan, it was because…"

"Do the princess and the samurai ever meet again?"

"Um…I don't really…"

"Aah, it's sooooo romantic!"

She took a step back, backed into the wall by the crowd of students around her. Yuzu's eyes were wide, a flush spreading over her cheeks. She never thought he would actually publish it, or that it was even good enough to be published. The excited voices of her classmates overlapped with each other, converging into one single tangled wave of noise. Her heart beat quickly in her chest. She had never been popular at Karakura High, so something like this was almost unheard of for her.

Furutani-sensei's commanding voice came almost as a relief.

"Okay, everyone back off before Kurosaki kicks all your asses."

She sighed in relief as her classmates reluctantly backed off of her, holding their copies of the magazine in their hands and grumbling under their breaths. Furutani-sensei watched them carefully, his hand resting near the hilt of his zanpakuto almost out of habit. She looked up at him.

"Thank you, sensei," she said.

He shrugged. "Just doing my job, Kurosaki," he said. The swordsman watched the class for a moment more, before looking back at her. "By the way, I think the ninja and the princess had better chemistry."

Yuzu sweatdropped, her face falling. She gave him a look that read 'not you too!'. The teacher glanced back at the class, then at the clock.

"Alright!" he said, clapping his hands. "Everyone come in here. I need to talk to you."

The class quickly moved in, forming a loose half-circle around Furutani-sensei. Yuzu jumped when she felt somebody touch her arm and looked down to see Kohaku grinning at her, the look on her face telling her that they would talk about it later. Furutani-sensei's eyes moved over all of them, lingering on all of their faces before he addressed the class as a whole.

"Today, you'll be having your division tours, along with Senda and Onabara's classes. What class do you have after lunch? Iwase?"

"Hakuda, sensei," said Kohaku, looking up from beside Yuzu.

"Alright," said Furutani. "Now everyone listen up. Instead of going to hakuda, you're coming here. We'll assemble as a class, then meet up with Onabara and Senda outside. We'll be doing our tour at the Ninth Division. No funny business. If any of you act up, you'll regret it. Is that clear?"

"Hai, sensei!" chorused the class.

"Good," said Furutani. "Okay. Now, you guys know what today is, right?"

"Sparring day," said one of the boys—the one closest to Furutani-sensei. He nodded.

"So, we're not going to open with jinzen today, to save time." He looked up and around at the students. "Let's see…alright, since you're the star of the show today, I'll pick on you. Kurosaki, front and center." He jerked his thumb towards the center of the room. Yuzu's eyes widened and she swallowed hard, nodding at him and walking towards the center. Furutani-sensei looked over the room.

"And…Nozawa," he said, pointing at a dark-haired boy. Nozawa nodded, walking up to her.

"Ready?" he asked as they faced each other, reaching for his wooden sword.

Yuzu nodded, feeling her stomach churning. The class did spars every two weeks, so this was only her second one. The first time, she had been paired up with Kohaku, and they had all done it at the same time. Now, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She took a deep breath, trying to get her heart to calm down as she reached for her wooden sword, her fingers closing around the hilt. She drew it from her sash, holding it in both hands and pointing it towards Nozawa.

"G-Good luck, Nozawa-kun," she said, giving him a small smile.

He nodded, giving her a cocky grin. "Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a girl, Kurosaki."

She nodded back, closing her eyes. Her hands felt cold, and her heart was thudding painfully in her chest. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Yuzu took a slow, deep breath just as Furutani-sensei had taught them, focusing on the feel of the sword in her hands. She evened out her breathing, calming her heartbeat slightly. She opened her eyes just as sensei gave the signal to begin.

_Clack. _

Yuzu raised her sword, blocking Nozawa's first strike. She changed the angle, blocking the second one. Her opponent blocked her first shaky strike with his own, redirecting her sword and pinning it down with his. She pulled back, slipping out of the hold and thrusting at him. He blocked it again, and as Yuzu raised her own wooden sword to block his, her world dissolved into a flurry of strikes and blocks, her classmates fading out into the background as she moved, taking a step forward.

* * *

><p>Furutani smirked slightly as he noticed Kurosaki's tentativeness start to ebb, her strikes becoming more decisive and quick and her blocks becoming more solid as the spar went on. He saw her eyes narrow, the look of concentration in them becoming stronger and stronger as she tuned everyone out. He watched as well as Nozawa's strikes became more refined and less sloppy, coming quicker as he realized he was fighting an opponent that would keep him on his toes.<p>

The girl was too unconfident to realize this, and probably wouldn't know it until the first exam period rolled around and grades were posted. And Nozawa probably already knew this and was overconfident because of it, but was quickly learning that he couldn't get by on talent alone.

He hadn't chosen at random. Furutani had picked the top one and two students of his class.

* * *

><p>"Karin-chan!" called a familiar voice.<p>

Karin looked up from her position as Yuzu ran over to them, waving her hand in the air. She blinked as her twin sister reached them, an excited look on her face, before side-stepping Yuzu's run, hooking her arm around the other girl's head and pulling her down.

"Oi, why didn't you tell me you were writing for the magazine?" she asked, ruffling Yuzu's hair with her hand roughly. Yuzu squirmed and pulled out of Karin's grip, smoothing her hair down with a hand.

"I didn't know he would publish it!" she said. She looked around. "Anyway, are you ready for the division tour?"

Karin shrugged. "It's not like it's anything we haven't seen before," she said.

"Yeah," said Yuzu. "At Hitsugaya-kun's Division…"

Karin stiffened at the name, sending Yuzu a glare. The other girl looked away, folding her arms. "You really need to go talk to him, Karin-chan," she said.

"I told you," said Karin. "He has to talk to _me _first."

"But—," began Yuzu.

Karin interrupted her, spotting something. "What's that on your hand?" she asked. Yuzu blinked, looking down at the bruise on the back of her hand. Her face flushed. "Ano…it was sparring day today, and Nozawa-kun managed to tap me on the back of the hand," she said.

Karin's eyes narrowed. "That looks like more than a tap," she said.

"Well…we were both really into it, so…" began Yuzu.

Karin raised an eyebrow, but turned away, her hands resting on her waist as Onabara-sensei started to address the assembled three classes. Behind him to his left stood the zanjutsu teacher and second class head, Furutani Katsuo-sensei, and to his right stood the hakuda teacher and third class head, Senda Sayuri-sensei. "I have an announcement to make!" he said. "Due to an accident involving an interview with the Twelfth Division vice-captain, the Ninth Division barracks have been closed down for the day. We will be carrying out our division tour at the Tenth Division instead. Hisagi-fukutaicho sends his regrets."

Karin went rigid. She turned towards Yuzu, her eyes narrowing. She had expected something was up when she saw her sister's short story in the magazine today. Yuzu didn't let anyone read her writing, preferring to keep it to herself. She raised an eyebrow.

"_Did you plan this?" _she asked silently.

Yuzu didn't say anything, giving her a tiny smile as Onabara-sensei had them form two lines.

* * *

><p>"And this is our mess hall…"<p>

Rangiku frowned from the rear of the group as Hitsugaya continued showing the students around, a cool expression on her face. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, watching as Karin looked on with a bored expression on her face, not once meeting the captain's eye. From beside her, Yuzu hummed thoughtfully.

"…This isn't working, Rangiku-san…" she said.

"Mm-hmm…" said Rangiku, nodding. "It's too easy for them to ignore each other in a crowd this size."

"What are we going to do?" whispered Yuzu, frowning as she looked on.

Rangiku smirked. "Give me a minute," she said, flashstepping away.

* * *

><p><em>Ano…Rangiku-san…don't you think this is a bit much…<em>

The next thing Yuzu knew, they were standing in the middle of a large mix of paints in one of the training rooms, caused by one of their classmates _accidentally _tripping over a rope that was connected to the buckets. She sweatdropped, looking around at the colorful mess with her hands clasped together as the students tried not to get any on their uniforms. Hitsugaya-taicho looked ticked off as he surveyed the mess, and Karin clicked her tongue impatiently from beside her.

On their other side, Senda-sensei was busy scolding the errant student, who was apparently from her class. Yuzu winced, listening to her go on.

_Gomenasai, Tsutsui-kun…_she thought, taking a deep breath as her eyes narrowed in determination. _But this is for a greater cause._

"Are…" said Matsumoto, rubbing her head. "This is a mess. I think I'm going to need to ask for volunteers to stay behind after the tour and clean this up."

Matsumoto's eyes met Yuzu's from across the room, holding there for a moment. Yuzu gave her a small nod and grabbed Karin's wrist, pulling her hand up. "Matsumoto-fukutaicho! We volunteer!" she said.

"Hey!" shouted Karin in protest, trying to pull her hand out of Yuzu's grip.

Yuzu ignored her sister, glancing at Hitsugaya. The captain gave them a cool glance before turning around, walking out of the room.

* * *

><p><em>I said that, but in the end…<em>

Yuzu sighed as she scrubbed at the floor with a rag soaked in paint thinner, looking up. Even though Hitsugaya and Karin were in the same room, they were stubbornly refusing to look at each other, each of them standing at opposite ends of the room and cleaning up on their own. She sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead. What would she have to do to get them to talk to each other?

"Psst…any ideas?" asked Matsumoto, scrubbing at the same patch of paint that Yuzu was working on so that the two of them could talk to each other discreetly. Yuzu shook her head, biting her lip as she scrubbed at a stubborn bit of paint. Matsumoto pursed her lips in thought.

"How about the walk home?" she asked. "I could convince the taicho to walk Karin-chan home…"

"They're both being really stubborn…" muttered Yuzu. "And if I'm here, Karin will just walk home with me when this is over...Also, she'll just stick to me…"

"So we need to find a way to get you to leave without her," said Matsumoto, frowning.

"Hey, what are you two talking about?"

Yuzu jumped, turning around to see Kohaku standing there, frowning at Yuzu. She held a dirty rag in her hand, covered in colors. Yuzu gulped. "N-Nothing, Kohaku-chan!" she said.

"That's right!" said Matsumoto. "I, uh…have never seen this academy student before in my life!"

Kohaku frowned in disbelief, then glanced towards Hitsugaya and Karin. Her eyes flicked over them, and Yuzu saw a small amount of understanding pass over her expression. "Sou ka…" she muttered. She turned towards Yuzu and leaned forward.

"You _owe _me," she whispered, straightening up and running a hand through her hair.

Kohaku walked forward, directly towards a puddle of water on the floor. As Yuzu watched, she suddenly slipped, letting out an exaggerated shout. Yuzu jumped up. "Kohaku-chan!" she shouted, running over to her friend and helping her up.

"Ow!" said Kohaku. "My ankle!"

Taking the hint, Matsumoto jumped forward. "Yuzu-chan, you should take Iwase-san back!" she said.

"H-Hai!" said Yuzu, nodding at Rangiku and slinging Kohaku's arm over her shoulder. She helped the other student to her feet, making for the door.

Both Hitsugaya and Karin turned towards them at the same time, watching them, before turning back to their work simultaneously, ignoring each other.

* * *

><p>Karin sighed and tossed the dirty rag into the bin, pushing her sweat-soaked hair out of her face. She would kill Yuzu for this when she got back to the Academy. As if it wasn't obvious what her sister was trying to do. Not that it worked anyway, considering Toshiro hadn't even said two words to her the whole time she was here.<p>

"I'm leaving," she said, looking around at the now clean room. Nobody responded, because there wasn't anyone in there to begin with. She let out a small huff, turning around on her heel and walking out the door. It was already dark outside. The sun had set over the horizon, and twilight colored the sky a light shade of purple. A cool breeze blew through the air, signaling the advent of winter.

She didn't know what she had been expecting. Toshiro hadn't said a thing to her in a month. What were the odds that he would actually man up and apologize to her today? She exhaled, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. She wouldn't admit it, but she had been hoping he would say something. But he never did.

Was that really all their friendship was worth?

She folded her arms, heading to the division gate.

"I'll walk you home."

Karin stiffened, turning around. She hadn't even noticed him behind her, even though she should have been able to sense his reiatsu. She had just been so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she hadn't even noticed. The Tenth Division captain stood behind her, his arms folded and a cool look in his green eyes as he studied her. There was no feeling on his face at all.

She turned away in a whirl of white and red.

"No thanks," she said, walking down the street.

He followed her, not saying a word. Karin's fists clenched and he turned around.

"Look!" she said. "I said no, so just go away. I don't need your help, and I don't need you to walk with me. You're not my friend anymore, Toshiro!"

She turned away, stomping down the street.

And he followed.

Karin's fists tightened, her knuckles becoming white. She turned around, shouting and sending a punch straight at him. As expected, he caught it, holding her hand by the wrist. His green eyes looked straight into her gray ones. A look passed over his eyes for a moment. Regret. She took a deep breath.

"Damn it!" she said. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why won't you just go away? Leave me alone!"

He frowned at her. "Karin…" he said. "Listen to me for a moment."

"Like hell I will!" said Karin, slamming her free fist down onto his chest. The attack connected, and she felt the force behind it move him slightly, but Toshiro didn't even look fazed by it. It reminded her then just how wide the power gap was between the two of them. Her fingers curled around his shihakusho, pulling him in. "You think you can just ignore me for a month and then expect me to listen to you after what you said to me? Who the hell do you think you are, Hitsugaya Toshiro? Why should I care about what you have to say? Get away from me!"

She tried to pull out of his grip and he did the unthinkable then.

He leaned forward and wrapped his free hand around her waist, pulling her to him. His chin rested on her shoulder, his head next to her ear.

It could have been an embrace.

Karin froze, her eyes widening as the fingers curled around the front of his robe loosened slightly. Now that they were this close, she could feel it.

He was shaking. It was a slight tremble, one that wouldn't be visible if she was just looking at him, but one that she could feel.

"Toshiro…" she said, too shocked to be angry at the moment.

"I went back," he said.

His voice sounded strange in her ear, almost alien to her. It quavered slightly, something that she had never heard in the icy captain's voice before.

If anything, it made her stop and listen.

"…That night…" he continued. "After I told you to go get your sister, I went back to make sure you were alright. And I saw you and your sister lying there. Dead. I thought for a moment that the Hollow had eaten you…and I remember…when I was standing there, what I thought."

His grip on her tightened for a moment, almost imperceptibly. "…If I had just gone with her, she wouldn't have died. This wouldn't have happened. If I had just walked her home."

His voice shook, and the hand on her back trembled slightly. On the outside, there was no change in his expression, aside from the fact that his eyes had taken on the appearance of someone who was recounting past sins.

"…Aizen tricked me into stabbing Hinamori through the chest," he said.

Her eyes widened. She didn't know what she had been expecting, and she knew there was some history between them, but that wasn't what she had been expecting. Toshiro went on, noticing that she had mostly stilled by now. "…I realized how it felt…to hurt your friends. It felt the same way when I saw you lying there. Like I killed you both myself."

He took a deep breath. "...Don't make me feel that again."

He remained there for a split-second longer before he released her. Karin stood there for a few long moments, unable to move. She stared at him, wide-eyed, her body frozen. He looked at her, and there was guilt in his eyes for a moment. And she realized something as she looked at him. He had never apologized. Not out loud. But that wasn't the sort of person Hitsugaya Toshiro was. The apology was written on his face. In his eyes.

But Karin wasn't the kind of person that would just take something like that lying down. Her eyes narrowed.

"Apologize to me," she said.

His eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Karin glared at him.

"Apologize, Toshiro," she said.

He stared at her for a moment, before his shoulders slumped slightly in defeat and his eyes lowered. "…I'm…sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to say it that way."

Karin stared at him for a moment, then extended her hand towards him. He looked up at her.

"Apology accepted," she said, grinning slightly. He frowned at her, then reached forward, taking her hand. They clasped hands for a second, meeting each other's eyes.

"…Come on," said Karin, letting go. "Let's head back."

He paused for a moment, before nodding at her. "Mm," he said, following her down the street.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	12. Ichigo's decision, Masaryu's reason

**A/N: **I just realized after putting up the last chapter that I forgot to add in one scene that won't make any sense anymore after this time skip and isn't long enough for one chapter, so I'll just make references to it and use it as a flashback in this one. To the person that asked for an Ankoujin vs. Karin fight, that'll come up, but I'm building up to that. And to the person that wanted to pair up Ankoujin and Yuzu, I'm sorry, but I don't particularly want to pair Yuzu up with an OC when there's so many good canon characters out there. That's not my only reason for saying no, but you'll see the others soon enough.

As for Yuzu's story, I might allude more to it in the chapters, and maybe put in an omake.

Happy Easter everyone!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 12: Ichigo's decision, Masaryu's reason<strong>

* * *

><p>Yuzu tugged her blanket around herself, staring down at the line of kanji characters on the page in front of her. She twirled the pen around in her hand, nibbling slightly at the end of it as she pursed her lips. It was winter outside, and a light snowfall had started, tiny flakes of snow drifting down from outside her window. Beside her on the desk were a small stack of brightly colored magazines. Contributor's copies, Hisagi-fukutaicho had called them, when he met her a few months ago and had asked her to continue the story if she could. It wasn't really demanding. After all, she loved to write, and she only needed to turn out a few pages each month.<p>

There were some nights, though, such as tonight, when inspiration really wasn't hitting her.

_Maybe I should introduce a new character…_she thought to herself, looking up at the photo on the desk and tilting it towards her slightly. She smiled. It was a picture of herself, Ichigo, Karin and her father, a few years ago, when all four of them were still in their bodies. Well, her father was technically in his gigai, but she hadn't known that at the time. A character based on her brother, perhaps?

The tea beside her had long since cooled. She took a small sip of it, before putting down her pen and standing up, slipping her feet back into her tabi socks and sandals. Maybe a short walk would help when it came to getting inspiration. She slipped out into the hallway slowly, mindful of the fact that it was a late at night. Even though the next day was a weekend and most students weren't asleep yet, there was always somebody who wanted to turn in early, and she didn't want to inconvenience those people by being loud.

She frowned as she glanced at the door in front of her, reading the name on the door. Maybe she should ask Karin to walk with her. No…she didn't want to bother her sister too much. Yuzu walked silently down the hallway of the women's dormitory, out into the small courtyard between the men's and women's buildings.

Snow fell down from above, dusting lightly on her head and shoulders as she walked, her blanket wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the cold. It wasn't too terribly cold, as long as she didn't get wet from the snow. She took a deep breath and watched as it misted in front of her face. The academy grounds looked like a winter fairytale in the dim light from the lanterns. The snow had already covered the ground in a carpet of white, and the courtyard was empty at this time of night.

Except for one person.

Yuzu frowned as she rounded the corner, seeing him standing there with his sleeves rolled up. The wooden sword in his hand went up and down, a repetitive motion as he stepped backwards and forwards, practicing his strikes. His breath hung heavy in front of his face, a constant white mist. He was breathing hard, and sweat plastered his black hair to his forehead, but his blue eyes were focused as he stared straight ahead of him. Her eyes widened slightly as she recognized him.

"An…koujin…kun?" she said, hesitantly.

Ankoujin Masaryu finished off one last strike and then looked at her, his blue eyes cool. She would have said they were like ice, except she had seen ice before, in Kuchiki Byakuya's expression and in Hitsugaya-kun's glare. This wasn't ice. It was more like water. Indifferent and uncaring, but deeper than it let on.

He turned towards her and extended his sword, pointing it at her. There was a look in his eye that appeared for a moment, then disappeared almost instantly.

Desperation?

"Fight me, Kurosaki Yuzu," he said.

Silence hung over the courtyard for a moment, the two of them frozen in place like figures painted on a winterscape. Yuzu stared up at him, meeting his eyes. They stood that way for a little while.

"…I refuse," said Yuzu, her hands curling into loose fists.

He didn't lower the sword, continuing to stare at her. Yuzu looked up at him, studying the look in his eyes. Again, she thought he looked desperate. As if he needed to confirm something…or to prove something to himself. She understood. He hadn't withdrawn the challenge.

"Why?" he asked.

"…I don't like to fight," replied Yuzu. "And I don't think I should fight you right now."

Masaryu stared at her for a moment, before he pulled his sword back and lunged at her, running towards her. Yuzu's eyes hardened and she pulled her wooden sword from its place, blocking his blow. He stepped back and attacked from another angle, and she blocked it again, holding the sword's hilt in both hands. The sound of wood against wood rang out in the small courtyard as she whirled away from his next strike, striking at an opening he had left himself in his shoulder. He jumped back, avoiding it before slashing at her again.

_Clack_.

She parried the blow, with a little more difficulty this time. She had never been in a class with Ankoujin before, but he was good. He was definitely better than most of the people in her class, besides Nozawa-kun maybe. But there was something…off about him. He seemed _too_ focused on her, his eyes fixed on her face and on her movements. Again, too desperate.

They jumped apart and rushed in again, exchanging a few more blows—neither managing to gain a hit on the other. He struck at her and Yuzu parried his blow, holding her sword up and gritting her teeth as he pushed against her. She took a step back and pushed back, the two of them eyeing each other from behind where their wooden blades were locked. Both were breathing hard.

"Why?" asked Yuzu. "Why do you want to fight me and Karin so badly?"

Masaryu looked down at her, his eyes narrowed. "I will be the next head of the Ankoujin Clan," he said, his voice edged with barely restrained anger. "And because of that, I will not lose to you, _**KUROSAKI!" **_

As he said the last word he whirled around, his sword outstretched. The clack of wood rang out through the air as he parried the attack from another blade. Karin looked up at him from behind her wooden sword, her eyes narrowed at him and a scowl on her face that showed her teeth.

"Che," she said, taking a step back and lowering her blade. Masaryu glared at her, before turning back to Yuzu.

As Yuzu watched, her shoulders still heaving with her breath and her sword still at the ready, he bowed stiffly, the sort of bow one might give to an opponent in a martial arts tournament, before slipping his sword back into his sword belt and turning away. Yuzu took another deep breath before straightening up, wiping her forehead with her arm.

She and Karin exchanged glances, watching as he walked back to the male dorms.

* * *

><p>Kuchiki Rukia looked up from her meditation, Sode no Shirayuki resting on her lap with both her palms on the sword. The sliding door stood open, and she watched as her brother stepped out, already dressed for a day of work at the division. She frowned. It was still early in the morning, and the sun had not yet fully risen. She hadn't even had breakfast yet. It seemed almost too early to head to work.<p>

"…Nii-sama, are you leaving already?" she asked.

Byakuya turned his head towards her. "I am," he said. "The soutaicho has something to discuss this morning."

"Ah, I see," said Rukia. "I wasn't aware that there would be a meeting today."

"Doubtlessly, you were not informed," he replied, his voice cool and even. "Only captains are to attend this meeting." He frowned at her, as if considering something. "Are you leaving for your division today?" he asked.

Rukia looked up, a puzzled frown on her face. "Hai…" she said.

"Remain here," he said, "As I believe the results of this meeting will be relevant to you. I should return before noon."

She frowned, confused. Byakuya didn't seem willing to say anything more about it, though, so she nodded her head. "Yes, nii-sama," she said. Sometimes, one simply needed to trust that Byakuya did the things he did for a reason, even if that reason wasn't relevant to anyone but himself.

* * *

><p>The captains stood in two lines in front of the soutaicho, facing each other. In the first line, side-by-side, stood Soifon, Unohana, Byakuya, Kyoraku, Toshiro, and Mayuri. In the second stood Renji, Komamura, Kenpachi, and a somewhat frail looking Ukitake. Most of the captains, the soutaicho included, were watching him, Byakuya, as usual, was stubbornly refusing to look at him.<p>

All in all, it wasn't a situation he hadn't been in before.

"Then, Kurosaki Ichigo, your decision?" asked Yamamoto, looking up at him from his chair.

Ichigo took a deep breath, turning towards the head captain.

"I accept," he said.

The weight of his words hung in the air in the room for a moment. Nobody looked particularly surprised, just…interested. As if they were waiting. Byakuya's eyes flickered over to him for just a moment, before he resumed staring straight ahead of him. Kenpachi grinned. Kyoraku and Ukitake smiled slightly. Soifon glared, and Renji nodded once.

The soutaicho simply looked up.

"Abarai-taicho, Kuchiki-taicho, and Zaraki-taicho, please remain. The rest of you are dismissed."

He tapped his cane on the ground and the captains that weren't called left, filing passed him. Kyoraku patted him once on the shoulder on the way out. Ukitake gave him a smile that said 'good luck', and Unohana smiled encouragingly. Byakuya looked up and turned towards him from his position. Renji grinned, and Kenpachi's smile took on a more shark-like appearance.

The soutaicho stood up.

Behind him, the doors closed behind the rest of the captains as they left.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," said the soutaicho. "Please, begin."

Ichigo nodded, reaching behind him and pulling Zangetsu into his hand. He looked up at the others, seeing the three captains and the soutaicho staring at him. The substitute shinigami took a deep breath, blue reiatsu suddenly surrounding him. It whirled around him, moving his hair back and changing the color of his eyes to a bright blue for a moment as he focused. Then, it coalesced, changing from blue to black as it whirled inwards towards him.

"Bankai," he said.

The reiatsu cleared, revealing him in his cape, one hand closed around his bankai's black hilt as he looked up to face them.

"Tensa Zangetsu."

* * *

><p>"GOOOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOOORNIIIIING, KAAAAAARRRRIIIIINNN!"<p>

Karin jumped up at the shout and rolled over, barely managing to avoid her father as he pounced onto her futon. She sat up on the floor, her eyes wide from the shock. She had been asleep until just a moment ago.

"Oi, what the hell?" she shouted, pointing at him.

He jumped up and turned to face her, his arms outstretched. "Come give your father a hug!"

"Get away from me, you freak!" she shouted, jumping out of her small round window and running across the academy grounds. Isshin followed her, running with his arms outstretched. People looked up as they passed, watching the two of them with confused looks.

Yuzu looked up from her kido textbook, frowning as her sister ran right past her, her father following in hot pursuit. She blinked, tilting her head slightly in confusion as she watched them.

"_You never hug your father!" _

"_Stop being a creep!" _

* * *

><p>"So…why are you here again?" asked Karin when everything had settled down. The three of them were sitting underneath one of the trees in the academy grounds, Karin eating a riceball that Yuzu had gotten her from the cafeteria.<p>

Isshin let out a small 'hmm', his arms folded and his legs crossed. There was a bump on his head from where Karin had kicked him. "Sou ka!" he said, looking up as he suddenly remembered. "Get ready. We have to be at the Kuchiki Family Manor by noon!"

Karin and Yuzu blinked, exchanging glances.

"The Kuchiki Family Manor?" asked Yuzu.

"Why the hell are we going back there?" asked Karin.

"It's a surprise," said Isshin, grinning. "You have to trust me! Don't you trust your father?"

"Hmph. As if…" muttered Karin, folding her arms.

* * *

><p>"Yuzu-chan? Karin-chan?" asked Rukia, frowning at them as the two of them walked in. "And Isshin-san too? What are you doing here?"<p>

"Who knows?" asked Karin in reply, looking up and jerking her thumb in Isshin's direction. Yuzu entered the room behind her, giving Rukia a polite bow as she stepped inside. "This guy over here said to come here," said Karin.

"What's going on, Isshin-san?" asked Rukia, frowning at him.

"Hmm…it's a surprise," said Isshin with a smile. "You'll see in a moment, when Kuchiki gets back." He looked around the room for a moment, then turned towards Rukia. "By the way, Rukia-chan, what are your feelings towards my son?"

Rukia stared at him for a moment in disbelief, silence filling the room. Yuzu and Karin looked up as well, staring at him.

"LEARN TO BE MORE SUBTLE!" said Karin suddenly, stomping on her father's foot.

"Ah, my Karin has learned to kick so hard!" said Isshin, jumping up and down on his free foot while holding his injured foot with his hand.

"Shut up! You and I both know that didn't hurt you!" said Karin, pointing at him.

"What do you mean?" asked Isshin. "I'm hurt! I'm really hurt! In fact, I might be dying!"

"Oh, shut up, mister former captain," said Karin.

"Former captain? Who said I used to be a captain?"

"_This_ says you used to be a captain! See this? See this?"

Yuzu sweatdropped, watching as Karin grabbed the shred of captain haori hanging off of her father's shihakusho and waving it in front of his face. Beside her, Rukia sweatdropped as well. Isshin pulled his zanpakuto from its belt, holding it up to his face.

"Engetsu, do you hear her? She's jumping to conclusions again! My oldest daughter is so impulsive!"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not standing right here!" shouted Karin, kicking him in the face. He flew backwards, slamming into one of the walls.

"Sorry about any damage to your house…" said Yuzu, giving Rukia a nervous laugh as the two of them kicked up a dust cloud.

"Iie…don't worry," said Rukia. "Nii-sama had most of our valuables moved from this room. I believe he may have expected this."

The sliding door slid open suddenly, causing all of them to look up. Yuzu and Rukia turned towards the door first, half-turning so that they were facing it. Their eyes widened. From the floor behind them, Karin looked up, her father's robe still clutched in her hands as she sat up. Her eyes widened in shock as well. Isshin looked up from the floor, craning his neck so that she could see them. A slow grin spread over his face.

"Well," he said, "Looks like he made it."

Byakuya strode into the room first, the wind blowing his scarf around him and moving through his captain's haori. There was a spot of blood on his uniform, and the edges of his haori were slightly torn. A bandage had been wrapped around his right hand. He said nothing, his eyes flicking over the room's occupants briefly before he kept walking.

Behind him walked Ichigo, a confident grin on his face as he entered the room. There was a bandage on his face, and more bandages peeked out from underneath his shihakusho. Zangetsu was slung over his back, and he had one hand on its hilt.

"I-Ichi-nii…" said Yuzu in surprise. Karin released their father, and Isshin fell back onto the floor with a small thud.

"Yo," he said, raising his hand as if it were just an ordinary day. "Yuzu. Karin…Rukia."

"I-Ichigo…" said Rukia.

Over his shihakusho, he wore a sleeveless white haori. As they stared, he walked over to Isshin, revealing the kanji for '5' on his back.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	13. Summons, captains, and deadlines

**A/N: **This chapter will attempt to clean up some loose ends before I fast forward us into the future. (The academy part isn't over yet, but I am going to skip ahead about a year or two after this chapter so we can get into the next academy mini-arc. There'll be two-three more of those before we have the graduation.) Enjoy this chapter! Isshin has a rare serious moment, yay!

Also, in case some people wonder how Isshin knows everyone, Urahara states that he quit being a shinigami twenty years before the story started, and Rukia was adopted forty years before the story started. Just to put things into perspective.

For the people who were asking about Ankoujin's reason, I'm not done explaining it yet, this was just a little teaser. Don't worry, I'm not just going to leave you hanging there.

**Blaze on, **I picked 5th because I gave Renji 3rd, and between 9th and 5th, 5th needed a captain more. Besides, it fit nicely—Ichigo replacing Aizen. As for Hinamori, I'm not replacing her. They'll just have to learn to work together.

**kittyxx92, **actually, quite the opposite. It's finals week. =) Soooo…I definitely should keep up this pace when we get into summer and I actually DO have a break. It takes me about an hour to an hour and a half to churn out a chapter, so it's not a big deal. But I probably actually will slow down when summer starts, because I promised myself I'd finish my original novel this summer. So…do you guys think you can deal with updates every _other _day?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 13: Summons, captains, and deadlines<strong>

* * *

><p>"And this is the training field, where most of our shinigami train during their standby periods, and—Kurosaki-taicho, are you listening?"<p>

Ichigo blinked, shaking out of his trance as he looked around at the training field Hinamori was showing him. He turned towards her, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, gomen, Hinamori," he said. When he had shown up at the Division this morning, his vice-captain had already been standing there, ready to give him a tour. Evidently, she had heard the news from Renji as soon as he passed his proficiency exam.

She frowned at him. "You didn't go through the Academy, so you're going to have to pay close attention if you want to run a Division," she said. "It's not just fighting, you know."

"Aa…I know," he said, lowering his hand.

"Alright," she said. "So…where are we now?"

"This is the training field," repeated Ichigo, looking out at the field in the division's courtyard. "It's where the shinigami train." He paused. "…Like the morning exercises the Thirteenth and Sixth do, right?"

"Well…" said Hinamori. "We haven't had morning training in a while, but that's mostly right. Let's keep going."

He nodded, following his fukutaicho through the halls of the Division. _His _Division, he reminded himself. It felt strange thinking of it like that. He passed a mirror as they walked through the hallway, his reflection looking back at him as he glanced at it. It had been odd waking up this morning and seeing his captain's haori folded by his bed. It still seemed a little strange, seeing it on him now. Even though it was just one piece added to his shihakusho, it looked different.

And it made him feel different as well, as if he was constantly reminded of the fact that he was wearing it.

"This is the administrative office," said Hinamori, stopping in front of one of the doors. "You and I both have our desks in this room. The room itself hasn't changed much since Aizen-tai—since Aizen used it."

She opened the door and he looked inside. Ichigo frowned. It looked like a traditional Japanese room—the kind he would expect from the Kuchiki house or somewhere like that. Two writing desks stood against two of the room's walls, and a calligraphy scroll hung down between them. The room had two windows, both leading out into the courtyard.

It definitely didn't give off the same feel as Aizen's palace in Hueco Mundo. But then again, he reminded himself, this had been Aizen's office when he was putting on an act. Hinamori pulled away, sliding the door closed.

"Ano…we can look at that later," she said. She continued walking down the hall a little more, before stopping in front of another room. "This is the captain's quarters," she said. "It's a little dusty in there now, but we'll clean it out before we move your things in." She paused for a moment, realizing something. "…Unless you would rather stay with your father," she said.

Ichigo winced. Isshin had declared himself retired, said there was no reason to go back to the human world, and had bought a house in the First District, extending an open invitation to his three children to live with him. Yuzu looked close to accepting, but both Ichigo and Karin had replied with a simultaneous: _"Denied!" _

"That's fine," he said, reaching out and pushing the sliding door open. "I'll stay here."

The room was bare, and obviously hadn't been lived in in a few years. Dust covered the floor, settling on the writing desk that seemed to be the only piece of furniture still left in the room. He frowned as he looked into it, realizing something. Was it just him, or did the Fifth Division seem a little…empty? In the other Division barracks he had been in, there was always somebody running around, but he hadn't seen more than a couple shinigami since Hinamori started her tour. Granted, it was still early in the morning, but if they _lived _here, shouldn't he see some sign of them?

"By the way, Hinamori," he said, closing the door to the room and turning towards her. "Where is everyone? Shouldn't people be up by now?"

Hinamori froze, suddenly looking uncomfortable. She clasped her hands together, looking down at them. "…Um…" she said. "…The thing is…while I was injured, about half of our members transferred to other divisions. They were already upset about Aizen…and…well…we didn't get any new recruits from the Academy over the past few years. They think the Division is cursed, you know…because of Aizen and Ichimaru…and what happened to Hirako-taicho before that." She gave a small nervous laugh. "I guess nobody wanted to join a Division run only by a vice-captain with such a bad reputation hanging over its head."

"…I…see…" said Ichigo, frowning.

Hinamori looked up at him. "Ah, but don't worry!" she said. "The members we have left are really great, even if they're not that strong! And they're loyal, so…even if we're small, we're still good. And it'll be good for you to head a…small…division first…" She trailed off, looking away and rubbing at her arm. Her eyes fixed on the floor, and she had an embarrassed look on her face.

Ichigo took a deep breath. When Yamamoto-soutaicho had offered the captaincy to him a little less than a year ago, he had been uncertain, mainly because he didn't know if he wanted to live in Soul Society and be a captain, and he didn't know if he was capable of leading a Division. After Yuzu and Karin died, it had made things easier. If he came here, he could be with them. Ishida, Chad and Inoue had pretty much told him to do whatever it was he had to do when they asked them about it, and as the soutaicho's deadline neared, his mind began to shift more and more towards accepting his decision than rejecting it. Maybe a part of him had been thinking that if Kyoraku and Renji could do it, there was no reason why he couldn't either. But he was beginning to realize now, that the Fifth wasn't a Division he could just play around with. It needed a captain…not some kid who just happened to be as strong as one.

And since there was no backing out now, it looked like he would have to be that captain. For some reason, the thought scared him. He hadn't been nervous when he had to come to Soul Society to save Rukia. He hadn't been afraid to go into Hueco Mundo and save Inoue. But this…

He sighed.

_Note to self: Next time a midget with a sword asks to stab me through the heart, I'll say no._

"Alright!" he said. "This is what we'll do. Round up everyone and bring them out to training fields."

"Eh?" asked Hinamori, looking up at him. "Why?"

"Well, you said that you haven't done morning training in a while," he said. "So we'll do it this morning. That way, I can get some idea about the strengths of the people in the division, and they can meet me at the same time. Is that okay?"

He frowned at her. She watched him for a moment, before a slow smile spread over her face.

"Hai!" she said. "Wait right outside, taicho, I'll get them!"

* * *

><p>"Kurosaki Isshin."<p>

Isshin looked up from the building that overlooked the Fifth Division's training fields, watching for a moment as a group of shinigami rushed at Ichigo, who disappeared in a flash and blocked another shinigami's strikes with Zangetsu. He turned away from the training session, a grin on his face as he turned towards the Sixth Division captain.

"Yo, Kuchiki," he said. "What do you need?"

Byakuya's frown deepened at his casual address, holding up his hand. He held a folded piece of paper in it, a red wax seal stamped onto the front. The Kuchiki Clan head held it out towards him.

"In the future, please inform all your correspondents of your new address, so your mail doesn't get sent to my manor," he said, his voice cool.

"Ah, thanks," said Isshin, taking the letter. He frowned as he recognized the seal on it, his expression becoming serious for a moment. Twenty-three years ago, he might have lifted his hand and taken a smoke upon seeing the seal, but Masaki had managed to kick that habit out of him. He pocketed the letter.

Byakuya watched him, his expression unchanged. The captain turned slowly, watching the training session going on below him.

"What do you suppose _they _want?" asked Isshin, folding his arms and turning back to the session as well.

"I assure you, I have no idea," said Byakuya. "It is none of my concern."

Isshin sighed, scratching his head. "A man can't get married in peace, right, Kuchiki?" he asked, letting out a short bark of a laugh at the end of that. Byakuya's frown deepened, and he seemed decidedly unamused.

"Don't compare two completely different situations," he said. "Hisana was not human. I did not abandon my post as a shinigami in order to marry her."

"That's condemnation in your tone," said Isshin, rubbing the back of his neck and looking up. He sighed, then smiled at the noble. "You haven't changed a bit since you were younger, Kuchiki."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed. "I have learned to curb my temper since then," he said. "I suggest you do not test it."

His hand moved, resting lightly on Engetsu's hilt. "I haven't released Engetsu in over twenty years," he said. "So I think I might be a little rusty. Although…probably not so rusty that that would scare me, since you've already lost to my son."

Byakuya said nothing, watching as the training session paused for a moment, and Ichigo turned to say something to the shinigami that had just attacked him. The two of them laughed at whatever it was he had said, and the session resumed.

"…How is Rukia-chan doing?" asked Isshin, folding his arms and changing the subject. "She looked well when I saw her yesterday."

"Rukia is performing her duties as a vice-captain well," said Byakuya, his tone stiff. "I have no complaints."

"What made you finally decide to promote her?" asked Isshin, with a small grin. "Didn't think I'd see the day."

Byakuya frowned and glared at him, and for a moment Isshin thought that he wasn't going to answer. He waited, because he knew from experience that Byakuya didn't talk until he was ready to, and prodding him would only make him mad. "It came to my attention after a conversation with Yamamoto-soutaicho that I had done Rukia a disservice, and that the Gotei 13 needed every capable shinigami in the rank that they were supposed to be in. I believe he had the same conversation with your son, Abarai, and Madarame. Only one of them rejected their duty."

"I see…" said Isshin. He grinned. "I gotta say, Kuchiki, I was surprised when I saw Rukia-chan. I knew you adopted a girl named Rukia as your sister, but I never met her once. That's probably a good thing. She didn't recognize me when she saw me. But she gave me a bit of a scare. I thought Hisana had come back for a moment."

"The two of them do share similarities in features…"

"But that's where it ends, right?" asked Isshin, with a grin. He rubbed the back of his head. "She kicks. Hard. I almost feel sorry for my son."

Byakuya said nothing, observing the training session with practiced indifference. Below them, Ichigo called the session to a halt, and the shinigami began to file into the Fifth Division for breakfast. As the two of them watched, the newly appointed captain turned his head, eyeing them and frowning before following the others inside.

Isshin sighed and patted the pocket where the letter was kept. "I don't know if I can read this sober," he said. "I'm guessing Shunsui is still captain of the Eighth?"

Byakuya simply gave him a look. One that could be best translated as 'you weren't gone that long'. Isshin nodded, a grin spreading over his face.

"I should go catch up," he said. "See you around, Kuchiki." He raised his hand in farewell, before walking away. Byakuya stared after him for a moment, and Isshin felt his reiatsu flicker and disappear as he used shunpo, heading back to his own Division.

* * *

><p>"And here is this month's chapter," said Yuzu, handing the envelope over. Hisagi-fukutaicho accepted it, placing it on the pile next to him.<p>

"Thanks, Kurosaki-san," he said.

"No problem," said Yuzu. "It was fun to write. I came up with a small twist. But…um…"

"Hmm?" asked Hisagi, looking up.

Yuzu frowned, twisting her fingers around each other slightly. "Well, there really isn't much left to do in the story. So I was wondering if I could end it soon. Before it gets too long and I have to do crazy things just to keep it going…I mean…"

"That's fine," said Hisagi. "Do you think you have enough material to stretch it out for another four months? Then it will be one full year since you started writing it. That seems like a good time to end it. You could make a special feature with the conclusion of the story."

Yuzu smiled, thinking it over. "I think I could do that," she said.

"Great," said Hisagi. He paused for a moment, looking up at her. "Thanks for continuing the story, by the way, Kurosaki-san," he said. "I know you're probably busy with classes."

"It's alright," said Yuzu, smiling. "I like writing anyway, so I would have done it even if you didn't need me to."

"That so?" asked Hisagi. "Well, that's good to know. If you have any more ideas when this one is done, you can send them in and we'll look over them."

"Thank you," said Yuzu, bowing politely. "Well…if that's all…I'll be leaving now." She turned around, heading towards the door of his office.

"One last thing, Kurosaki-san," he said.

"Hai, Hisagi-fukutaicho?" asked Yuzu, frowning slightly and turning her head to face him.

"In about two months, we'll be publishing our anniversary edition," he said. "We usually invite all of our contributors for the year to our anniversary party. You're invited to come, of course."

Yuzu smiled up at him. "Thank you, Hisagi-fukutaicho," she said. "That sounds fun."

She gave him another polite bow before leaving the office.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	14. Notes from a secret derider

**A/N: **And here's a time skip. Sorry to all of you for not putting in the party, but I'll probably write a oneshot about it eventually. I'm using the academy to lay some groundwork, so part of me just really wants to get it done so I can get straight into stuff.

**Hakkuchi, **I already know which Divisions Yuzu and Karin are joining and what their zanpakutos and zanpakuto spirits will be like (Yuzu's I know all the way up to bankai, although I don't know if we'll get that far in this story). And they're all named.

**Sierra, **I don't know yet. I'm experimenting with various pairings and seeing how it works out.

The letter will be revealed soon. Not during this time skip, but soon.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 14: Notes from a secret derider<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichigo appeared outside his division, stepping through the doors. His vice-captain, who had been standing in the courtyard talking to his eighth seat, immediately fell in step beside him.<p>

"Morning, taicho, how was the meeting?"

"Long," replied Ichigo, glancing around. Compared to what it was two years ago, it was nice to see the Division full of activity. It wasn't as busy as the other Divisions yet, but they had managed to attract people from the Academy over the past two years, and it was filling up. "Who knew Komamura liked to talk," he muttered.

By the end of the wolf captain's speech, Renji looked bored, Toshiro looked slightly ticked off, Kenpachi was fidgeting, and even _Byakuya _was giving him an impatient look. But maybe the last one wasn't such a surprise. Ichigo was probably one of the few people who knew that Byakuya was only calm and composed on the _outside_.

"How are the new recruits?" he asked as they walked through the halls towards the administrative office.

"Everyone is adjusting well. A lot of the senior shinigami are really being helpful and showing them how things work around the Division. We took in a little more recruits than the other Divisions, so we're actually at 65% of the size we were before the Winter War. Did the soutaicho say anything important?"

"The usual," said Ichigo, scratching the back of his head. He frowned. "Oh, slight increase in Hollow activity again. Nothing major, and the Eleventh is on it."

"I see…" said Hinamori, nodding.

He slid the door to the office open and froze. Beside him, Hinamori froze as well, both of them staring inside with wide eyes.

"Hinamori."

"Yes, Kurosaki-taicho?"

"…What is that pink thing, and what is it doing in my office?"

"…I believe it's Kusajishi-fukutaicho, Kurosaki-taicho."

"Icchi!"

Before Ichigo could react, the lump of pink and black sitting in the floor of his…suddenly pink office launched herself towards him. Ichigo caught her in the air, holding her at arms length from his face as she tried to grab onto him. There was a grin on her face.

"Ne, Icchi, did you like what I did to your office?"

He could barely _look _at his office. She had covered everything in pink. The walls, the chairs, even Aizen's old calligraphy scroll were covered in pink paint. "Why did you paint my office _pink_?" he asked.

"Because I heard from Pineapple that you wanted to redecorate your office, so I came to help you! He said you'd like that! Did I do good, Icchi?"

"_Renji…" _muttered Ichigo under his breath, seething.

"Ne, ne, Icchi, are you going out to play with Pineapple?" she asked. "Can I watch?"

"Sure, Yachiru," said Ichigo, his eye twitching as he put her down. "You can watch."

"Yay!" said Yachiru, following him out the door. "And maybe after, you can play with Ken-chan!"

"I'll try and clean up here, taicho," said Hinamori from behind him, smiling slightly.

Ichigo frowned, glancing at Yachiru as they left. "Hey, did you get taller?" he asked.

Yachiru only grinned in reply, sticking her tongue out.

* * *

><p>Karin left the examining room with a sigh, closing the door behind her. "Oi, Ankoujin!" she called, as all her classmates turned to look at her. "You're up!"<p>

Masaryu got to his feet, calmly walking past her and towards the open door. He didn't even look at her as he stepped inside, his expression indifferent as he closed the door behind him. Her classmates, who were sitting around in loose groups around the door, all jumped up, running over to her.

"Kurosaki, how'd it go?" one of them asked. "How'd you do?"

"Three out of five," said Karin. "I forgot Soukatsui's incantation, and I missed Shakkaho."

"How did you miss Shakkaho?" asked Miyako, frowning at her. "It's an exploding ball of fire."

"Yeah, well it exploded alright," said Karin, scratching the back of her head. "In the _wrong _direction." She held up her hand, showing her classmates the charred edge of her sleeve. They winced in sympathy. "…Yeah, I really don't want to talk about that one."

Karin looked up across the hall, watching as Yuzu, who had been sitting with her own class, stood up to enter the examining room as well. Her twin looked nervous. Karin gave her an encouraging smile, raising her hand and giving her a thumbs up. Yuzu nodded back, forcing a smile onto her face as well before taking a deep breath and entering the classroom.

"Well, four out of five is still good," said one of them, patting her on the back. "Besides, your hakuda grades should pull it up."

"Oh, I'm passing," said Karin, stretching and clasping her hands behind her neck. "I'm ready to get out of here."

"Three more years, Kurosaki-san," said Miyako with a grin. "Three more years."

"Yeah," said Karin. "Then we have to worry about divisions."

"Well, you don't," said one of their classmates, a boy. "It's not like you don't already know what division you're joining."

"Hmm?" asked Karin, looking up.

"Fifth, right?" asked the boy. "Your brother'll definitely take you."

"Actually Fifth's the only division I can't join," said Karin, frowning. "Captains and vice-captains can't take their immediate relatives right out of the Academy. They can have them as seated officers once they've proven themselves a bit, but…"

"You can rule out Fourth too," said Miyako with a grin, tugging on the edge of Karin's charred sleeve.

"Hey, my kido isn't _that _bad," said Karin, rolling her eyes.

"And Twelfth," said the boy—Nimiya Seiji—with a laugh.

"Like I'd want to join there anyway," said Karin, folding her arms and glaring at him.

"Maybe Eleventh'll take you, since you're so violent," said a voice in the crowd. Karin whipped around, her fist clenched.

"What's that? Who said that?" she shouted. "Say it to my face!"

"Kurosaki-san…I think you're just proving them right," said Miyako, placing a hand on her shoulder.

A loud explosion suddenly rang out from the examining room, making everybody jump. The door slid open, and the entire class slowly turned their heads, faces pale. Ankoujin Masaryu stood in the doorway, an angry look in his eyes. His entire kosode had been ripped open, and there were burn marks on his face and on his chest. A tuft of flame flickered unsteadily at the tip of one wayward strand of hair.

"Nimiya. You're next," he said, staring straight ahead of him.

Karin stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing.

He glared at her. "This is _not _funny, Kurosaki," he said.

"Yes—yes it is!" said Karin, holding her stomach and doubling over. "Oh—oh my God—you, the high and mighty Ankoujin Masaryu—you _flunked _kido, didn't you!"

"I did _not _flunk!" he said. "I just…didn't do as well as I wanted to do."

"Don't feel bad, Ankoujin-kun," said Miyako, turning towards him. "Shakkaho tends to explode like that if you aren't careful."

Masaryu gave her a flat look. "…It was Byakurai," he said.

The rest of the class backed off, and Karin laughed harder. Behind her, she could hear her classmates whispering amongst themselves.

"How the hell do you blow up Byakurai?"they asked each other, staring at Masaryu. He stared back at them. A moment of silence passed between them, before the entire class turned towards him as one, nodding their heads.

"Epic fail."

"What do you know?" asked Masaryu, clenching his fists. He glared at Karin. "Stop laughing, Kurosaki."

Karin gave one last chuckle before straightening up, wiping a tear from her eye. She grinned. "Man," she said. "And I thought _I _was bad at kido. Looks like you finally beat me at something, Ankoujin."

"Actually, you're both pretty horrible at it," said Miyako with a frown, glancing between the two of them.

"_"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man…"_

Both Masaryu and Karin looked up, frowning. The door to Yuzu's examining room was slightly ajar. The two of them exchanged a glance, before creeping over to the door and peering inside. The youngest Kurosaki had her hands up facing the target, her eyes narrowed and an expression of concentration on her face. A ball of red light was forming at the center of her palm.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

The energy ball shot forward, forming a pillar of fire. It crashed into the target, blowing Yuzu's hair and clothes back slightly. It was a small beam, but it was perfectly formed, and it struck the target instantly. The examiner—one of the advanced kido teachers who was proctoring the third years' exam for the day—scribbled down something on a piece of paper and nodded.

"Now the last one, Kurosaki," she said.

Yuzu nodded, taking a deep breath. She pulled back her hand, pointing two fingers at the target as she recited the incantation. "Hado 4: Byakurai!"

A bolt of white lightning shot out from her fingertips, slamming into the target and piercing a hole through it as Karin and Masaryu watched in astonishment. The teacher nodded, writing something down again.

"Full marks. Good job, Kurosaki."

"Thank you, sensei," said Yuzu, bowing towards the teacher before leaving the room. She blinked, sliding the door open and looking down to see both Karin and Masaryu crouched there.

"Eh?" she asked. "Karin-chan? Ankoujin-kun?"

"…I hate you so much right now," said Karin. "Kurosakis aren't supposed to be good at kido!"

"…But I _like _kido…" said Yuzu.

Masaryu stood up, turning her back to her. Yuzu frowned. "Ankoujin-kun?" she asked.

"I require more study," he said, walking away. "You win this round, Kurosaki Yuzu."

"What?" asked Yuzu, frowning. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," said Karin, shaking her head. "Actually, don't ask. You don't have another exam today, do you?"

"No," said Yuzu. "Actually, Kohaku-chan and I were going to go practice hakuda, because the exam's tomorrow and I'm really bad at it…"

"Sheesh…" said Karin. "You're good at kido but bad at hakuda. Are we really related?"

"I'm pretty sure we are, Karin-chan, because otherwise, Mama would have said something," said Yuzu, smiling slightly. "Do you want to come?"

"No, it's alright," said Karin, shrugging. "You can't really practice hakuda in threes, unless you want to start a brawl or something. I'll go hang out at the Tenth and bother Toshiro."

"Alright," said Yuzu, smiling. "So I'll catch up with you when I'm done?"

"Sounds good," said Karin, raising her hand. "See ya."

"See you," said Yuzu, smiling.

* * *

><p>Vice-captain Kuchiki Rukia of the Thirteenth Division never knew what to expect when walking into Renji's office. In the five short years that Renji had been captain, she had walked in on everything from the relatively normal routines of paperwork and scolding subordinates to things like Matsumoto passed out on the couch, meetings of the Shinigami Men's Association, Yachiru stealing food, card games, and once, an all out food fight. So when she opened the door to see Renji's desk completely obliterated and Ichigo holding him in a headlock, she really wasn't surprised.<p>

"Ichigo," she said, calmly stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. The two of them looked up at her. "…Why are you trying to kill Renji?"

"This little bastard had Yachiru paint my entire office _pink _while we were at the captain's meeting!" said Ichigo, shaking Renji's head forward.

"O-Oi! I only told her you might need help redecorating. I didn't tell her to go and paint the whole thing!" said Renji, angrily looking up at Ichigo.

"That's like releasing a tiger and telling it that people might taste good," said Ichigo, shaking him. "You _knew _she was going to do something!"

Rukia blinked at the exchange between the two of them. Yachiru, who had been sitting on the couch watching the fight, jumped up and landed in front of her. "Rukichan!" she said. "Did Byakkun send anything for me?"

Rukia blinked. "Ah…iie…" she said. "He didn't…well I haven't seen him since this morning, so I don't know."

"Aww, that's too bad!" said Yachiru, disappointed. "I'm gonna go talk to him!"

She rushed past Rukia, running down the hallway. Ichigo and Renji stared after her, frowning.

"She's got it," said Renji, Ichigo's arm still around his neck and the other captain's head on his hand.

"Bad," added Ichigo, nodding.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rukia, frowning.

"Yachiru," said Ichigo, letting Renji go.

"What about her?" asked Rukia.

"She's got a huge crush on your brother," said Renji.

"What?" asked Rukia, her eyes widening. She tilted her head to look outside the window, but there was no sign of the pink-haired lieutenant. "But she can't be more than thirty years old!"

Ichigo sweatdropped, probably at the realization that even if she was younger than thirty, Yachiru was older than him. "It's just a little kid crush," he said. "She'll grow out of it." He blinked. "Wait a minute," he said. "Are you telling me you never noticed? God, you're oblivious."

"I-_I'm _oblivious?" asked Rukia, incredulously. She stepped forward. "Who are you to talk, you stupid strawberry?"

"I told you, my name means "one protector"!" said Ichigo. "And you're completely oblivious!"

"You're both pretty oblivious…" muttered Renji, a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head as he watched Rukia and Ichigo start arguing.

As soon as this was over, he was probably going to find Rangiku and toss his own bid into the betting pool of how long it would take them to start going out.

He had a pretty good feeling about next year.

Even though Kuchiki-taicho was insisting it would be this one.

* * *

><p>Yuzu tilted her body back as Kohaku swung at her, her eyes wide as she barely dodged the other girl's strike. She retaliated with a clumsy punch of her own, but it was quickly parried, and she gasped audibly as Kohaku swept her leg out, catching Yuzu by the ankle and sending her tumbling down onto the grass. She landed on her rear as the other girl straightened up, frowning down at her.<p>

"Are you alright, Yuzu-chan?" she asked, extending a hand.

"I-I'm fine…" said Yuzu, taking a deep breath and letting Kohaku help her to her feet. She brushed the grass off of her hakama. "I did really badly on that, didn't I?" she asked.

"You…um…you should be able to pass the year if it helps…" said Kohaku. "The Academy doesn't expect us to do great at every single class, and you're really good at kido and zanjutsu. It's really weird that you can't do hakuda, actually."

"It's different with a sword," said Yuzu with a small nervous smile. She rested her hand on the hilt of the nameless sword Furutani-sensei had assigned to her. Only a third of the class had been allowed to use them at this point, compared to half of Karin's class, and they still had to use the wooden weapons or edgeless swords to train. Kohaku herself was still limited to her wooden sword.

"Sou ka…" said Kohaku. "But I'm sure you'll be able to do it. Have you been practicing?"

"Hai," said Yuzu as the two of them began to walk back towards the dorm room. "Karin-chan and I practice a lot, and she tries to help me too."

"Hmm…" said Kohaku. "Well don't worry about it too much, alright? Everyone has something they're bad at, and a lot of shinigami have hakuda as their weakest discipline."

"Hai," said Yuzu, nodding. "I guess that's true. I just don't want to do too bad at it."

"You'll do fine," said Kohaku, stopping in front of Yuzu's door. "Are you staying here for the rest of the day?"

Yuzu shook her head. "No…" she said. "I'm actually heading over to the Tenth to meet up with Karin and Hitsugaya-kun."

"Oh…" said Kohaku, frowning. "Well, I won't keep you from your meeting with captains."

Yuzu slid her key into the lock and turned it, opening the door to her room. She stepped inside. "It's nothing like that, really," said Yuzu. "It's just that Hitsugaya-kun is Karin's friend, so we became friends by association."

"Still," said Kohaku, "It must be pretty cool." She frowned down at something on the floor. "What's that?" she asked.

"What's what?" asked Yuzu, looking down.

"That," said Kohaku, pointing.

Yuzu looked. On the floor of her room, right next to the door, was a folded up piece of paper. It looked like someone had slid it under the door for her. She frowned, bending down to pick it up. Yuzu opened it, her eyes widening. She froze, staring down at the piece of paper. Her grip tightened on the edges, crinkling them up slightly.

From beside her, Kohaku looked over at her.

"…What's wrong, Yuzu-chan?" she asked. "What is it?"

In response, Yuzu turned the paper over, letting Kohaku see. On it, in angry black brush strokes, were two words.

**GO HOME!**

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	15. Threats and suspicion, the dragon denies

**A/N: **Not one of my best chapters, but my brain's still fried from that physics exam I just took. I threw in a little IchiRuki for you guys! As well as some HitsuKarin! Although mainly, this chapter is about them trying to figure out who would want to hurt Yuzu…and some other stuff happens as well. Enjoy!

By the way, I realized that in the anime/manga, Rukia and Renji aged from children to teenagers in 10 years. So I'm guessing children in Soul Society age faster than adults. Which is why Yachiru might be growing up a little over the course of this fic. Hope that's alright with everyone.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 15: Threats and suspicion, the dragon denies<strong>

* * *

><p>Karin lay with her back propped against the wall, listening idly as Toshiro scolded one of his subordinates about something. From the sound of it, it was failing to purify a Hollow while on a mission to the living world and losing track of two of the unseated shinigami that had been brought along with them to get some experience. It was times like these when she was reminded that even though they hung out a lot and were close friends, Toshiro was still a captain.<p>

Then again, so was Ichigo, and that didn't change much.

After a few moments, the subordinate was dismissed, and Toshiro sighed, running a hand through his short white hair and turning back towards her. She looked up, turning towards him.

"Rough day?" she asked.

"Could be better," said Toshiro with a shrug. "How many exams do you have left?"

"Hakuda tomorrow, and then history." She grinned. "We're going over the Winter War. So I'm not too worried about that one."

"Make sure you get your facts right," said Toshiro. "Otherwise some people you know might not be too happy."

"I feel like just saying 'screw it' and writing 'Ichi-nii fights everyone' for my essay portion," said Karin, laughing slightly. "I'd like to see sensei grade that one."

"Well, he didn't fight _everyone_," said Toshiro, frowning. "He was only responsible for defeating two Espadas."

"That's two more than you took down," said Karin with a slightly teasing grin.

"Read your history book again. I was close to taking down two of them," said Toshiro.

"Close doesn't cut it," said Karin, grinning at him. He rolled his eyes in response, folding his arms and turning to watch the activity in the training yard. Behind him, the sliding door slid open, and Matsumoto cleared her throat, loudly. Toshiro's eyes widened slightly at the reminder and he looked up.

"By the way, Karin," he said.

"Hmm?" asked Karin, cracking open an eye and turning towards him. She was lying down on the floor now, her hands clasped behind her head.

He coughed into the side of his fist, his face flushing slightly. "The…uh…the summer festival will be held soon."

Karin opened her eyes and frowned at him, sitting up. "Yeah, what about it?" she asked.

"Well—," said Toshiro. "…If you weren't—well, I was wondering—."

"Yuzu?" asked Karin suddenly, cutting him off.

Toshiro opened his eyes. Yuzu was walking over to them, a worried frown on her face and a piece of paper clutched in her hands. Before he could say a word, Karin had already jumped to her feet, running over to her. He blinked. From behind him, he heard Matsumoto sigh.

"Well, taicho, there's always next time…" she said.

He shot her a quick glare, his face still slightly pink. The captain shook his head, clearing his throat and getting to his feet. He walked over to the twins.

"Yuzu, what's wrong?" asked Karin.

"I—." began Yuzu. She shook her head quickly. "It—it's nothing. Don't worry about it, Karin-chan."

"It's not nothing, Yuzu. I know you better than that. C'mon, spit it out."

"N-No, really…" said Yuzu, looking flustered. "It's not…well…it's not that important…it's just…" She fiddled with the paper in her hand, crinkling it up slightly between her fingers. Karin frowned and snatched it out of her hand, opening it up. Toshiro tilted his head slightly, but from this angle, he couldn't see what was written on it, and he didn't want to walk around Karin to read over her shoulder. Whatever was on there, though, wasn't good. As he watched, Karin's eyes narrowed dangerously, her face flushing with anger. She crumpled it up into a ball with one hand, grabbing Yuzu by the wrist.

"Come on," she said, pulling Yuzu towards the gate. The younger twin let out a surprised squeak as she was dragged off.

"K-Karin-chan!" she said. "Where are we going?"

"To find out who's responsible for this," said Karin, stomping off. "And I think I have a pretty good idea."

* * *

><p>She found Ichigo sitting at the top of Sokyoku Hill, his feet dangling off the edge as he looked over Soul Society. Rukia walked over to him, approaching from behind. He didn't turn around to look at her, but silently shuffled over to the side, giving her room to sit. She dropped down next to him, resting her hands in her lap. They sat in silence for a little while. It wasn't an oppressive silence. Instead, it was more of a peaceful one. As if the entire day had been full of chatter, and now they could finally rest.<p>

"How'd you find me up here?" asked Ichigo, placing his hands behind him and leaning back slightly to look up at the sky.

Rukia snorted. "How could I miss you?" she asked. "You're still leaking reiatsu like a sieve, you know that?"

"Seriously, still?" asked Ichigo, turning towards her. "Sheesh. I thought I got that under control."

Rukia gave him a teasing smirk. "I suppose we can't really expect too much from a substitute shinigami," she said.

"Oh, shut up," said Ichigo, his eyes narrowing. "I really have been improving. You're the only one that can still sense me from that far away." He gave her a flat stare. "Stalker."

Rukia's face turned red and she smacked him hard in the back of the head. "Idiot!" she said. "It's not like that!"

Ichigo's eyes widened and his arms flailed slightly as he tried to keep himself from falling off the side of the hill. He straightened up, turning to glare at her. "Oi! Be a little more careful, will you, midget?"

"Why, Ichigo, I didn't know I was strong enough to defeat you so easily," teased Rukia, covering her hand with her mouth mockingly as she turned away. Ichigo's face reddened.

"Shut up," he muttered, lying back and looking up at the sky. Rukia fell silent for a moment, one hand on the ground as she looked down at him. The captain of the Fifth placed his hands behind his head, staring up. She waited a few moments, before speaking again.

"What are you doing all the way up here anyway?" she asked.

"There's no way in hell I'm stepping inside that office until Renji cleans it up," he said.

"But why _here _of all places?" asked Rukia, pulling her legs up so that her knees were close to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them, looking out at Seireitei. Even now, she couldn't help but feel a little wary around Sokyoku Hill. Ichigo didn't miss the movement. He propped himself up on his elbows, watching her.

"You didn't have to come up here after me," he said.

"I was worried about you…" admitted Rukia. "…I thought you had gotten all depressed again, about something stupid."

Ichigo frowned. "…I was just thinking," he said.

"About?" she asked, turning towards him.

He said nothing for a few moments, before sighing and leaning back. "A week from today, the old man, me, Yuzu, and Karin are all heading back to Karakura Town. You want to come?"

"A week from today?" repeated Rukia, frowning. She counted off the days in her head. Ichigo waited for her to finish, his head turned towards her.

Today was the ninth of June. In exactly a week, it would be…

"The sixteenth of June…" said Rukia.

The death anniversary of Kurosaki Masaki.

"Aa," said Ichigo, lacing his hands behind his neck and looking back up at the sky. "Are you coming?"

She frowned. "…It's a family affair," she said. "I don't want to intrude. I mean, I'm not exactly fa—"

"Rukia," said Ichigo, cutting her off. She turned towards him. "Just come."

"I—." She hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath. He watched her, his eyes meeting hers. She stared at him for a few moments, looking straight into his brown eyes. Rukia sighed, defeated.

"Alright, Ichigo," she said. "I'll come with you."

* * *

><p>"Karin-chan, where are we going?" asked Yuzu as Karin dragged her by her wrist through the academy grounds, crossing the courtyard between the dormitories. Karin didn't answer, pulling her towards the building opposite their rooms. Yuzu's eyes widened. "K-Karin-chan! This is the boys' dormitory!"<p>

Karin didn't respond, pushing the doors open with one hand and stomping through the walls. She stopped in front of one door, kicking it open roughly. The wood cracked and splintered as her kick, infused with reiatsu, slammed into it, throwing the door open. Yuzu let out a squeak as Karin suddenly released her, stepping into the room and grabbing Masaryu by the front of his Academy uniform, slamming him into the wall.

"You…" she said, seething. Her eyes narrowed, and her hands were glowing with pale blue light. "…This is a new low for you."

He looked down at her, a scowl on his face and his blue eyes cold. "What are you talking about, Kurosaki?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb, Ankoujin," said Karin, holding up the note in front of his face with her free hand. "You wrote this and slid this under Yuzu's door. What? Trying to scare her off just because she's better than you at kido?"

Masaryu's eyes widened slightly as he saw the note, but they quickly narrowed again as he glared at Karin. "How dare you think that I would stoop so low," he said. "I would never do something like that. If I don't win against you fairly, it's meaningless."

"And why should I believe anything you have to say?" asked Karin. "You had the time to do it!"

"So did I, and so did every other person in the Academy," said Masaryu. His eyes narrowed sharply. "Put me down, Kurosaki," he said. "Before I make you."

Karin's fist clenched, her grip tightening on the front of his uniform.

"Karin-chan, stop…" said Yuzu, stepping into the room. She placed her hand on Karin's shoulders to calm her down. "It wasn't him…"

"How do you know that?" asked Karin, turning towards her.

"Because Ankoujin-kun's right. It's not in his personality to do something as underhanded as this…" she said, frowning. "He would have challenged me outright. Please, Karin. Just drop it."

Karin hesitated for just a moment, before slowly releasing Masaryu. He straightened up, letting out a small 'hmph' before readjusting his uniform. "If you didn't do it, then who did?" she asked.

"That's none of my concern," said Masaryu.

"Why, _you_—," began Karin, pulling her fist back.

"Karin-chan!" shouted Yuzu, reaching forward to stop her.

"Kurosaki-san! Kurosaki-san, there's trouble!" shouted a breathless Miyako, sliding to a stop in Masaryu's doorframe. Karin's fist froze in mid-air, inches from Masaryu's face. His own hand froze as well, already halfway into a counterattack. All three of the room's occupants turned to face her, Yuzu's eyes wide, Karin's expression surprised, and Masaryu's slightly curious.

"What's wrong?" asked Karin as her classmate placed her hands on her knees, breathing hard.

"Your room," panted Miyako. "Your room's been vandalized."

Karin and Yuzu's eyes widened in shock. Behind them, Masaryu looked up.

* * *

><p>Kurosaki Isshin had noticed the house almost as soon as it came up, visible from his bedroom window. If he hadn't been looking for it in the first place, he would have noticed it anyway. It had the same ostentatious style typical of its owner, even though the last time he had seen it, it had been in a completely different design. He walked through its doors, making his way to the main hall.<p>

"Who's there?" asked a familiar voice, and he felt a spiritual presence behind him. He grinned, resting one hand on Engetsu's hilt as he turned—there was never any guarantee as to what particular mood _she _was in, after all—raising his free hand.

"Hey, Kukaku," he said. "It's been a while."

Shiba Kukaku's eyes widened slightly as she saw him.

"Isshin…" she said.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	16. Yuzu's accusation, a friendship tested

**A/N: **Thank you guys so so much for all of your reviews! I hope you like this chapter. I also want to apologize for any stupid plot twists I might end up coming up with for this small story. Mystery isn't my strong point, and normally I plot things out in advance, but I'm making it up as I go along at this point. To the people asking to see Karin fight, trust me, she will in about one or two chapters.

**Shizuku700, **That's a very good question. Actually I have two. Reason one is the cop-out excuse: I haven't watched the anime in ages, and while I'm starting to watch it again, I'm in the middle of the Hueco Mundo arc, hence, no twins, and I don't read the manga. Reason two is the legit reason (yes, there is one):

From what I know about the twins, Yuzu has taken over the role of mother in the house after Masaki's death, doing most of the housework and the cooking. Because of this, she has a strong sense of empathy and is more sensitive than her sister when it comes to other people (information obtained from the Bleach Wiki and my own observations). So, extrapolating on that, I matured her a bit because this story began when they were both 15, and at this point they would both be around 18 chronologically while being 15 physically. Karin meanwhile, because in her own words she could not be as "useful" in the house as Yuzu (canon), repressed her emotions and promised not to cry so that she wouldn't be a bother, and became the more authoritative twin. So Karin is tougher than Yuzu, but Yuzu is more sensitive and empathetic than Karin. (Hence, Yuzu figured out Masaryu's personality and applied it, while Karin knows that Masaryu is just out to get her and guessed from there, like a lot of reviewers also did).

Any other differences can be chalked up to aging and maturing, since people tend to change their personalities between the ages of 11-18. And the rest…well, I'm a fallible human being. I try to keep it as accurate as possible, but I'm going to mess up some time. Did I answer your question?

Oh, and I have a soft spot for Yuzu in this story. XD I love them both, but she doesn't get enough love in fanfiction.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16: Yuzu's accusation, a friendship tested<br>**

* * *

><p>The room was completely trashed. Gashes had been cut into the futon and the pillows, and the stuffing spread everywhere. The chair had been cut to pieces, and the writing desk had been slashed in two. Karin's family picture lay on the floor, the glass smashed in. She walked over to it, picking it up with both hands and turning it over. Her hands shook.<p>

"K-Karin-chan…" said Yuzu, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Karin's fingers trembled. She let go of the picture, letting it fall to the ground as she stood up. "Who?" she asked, turning around and glaring at the assembled group of people around the door. Aoyagi Miyako, Karin's friend from the first class, and Iwase Kohaku, Yuzu's friend, were standing there, along with a group of curious onlookers. They all stepped back, aside from Masaryu, who lingered in the doorframe.

"A-Ano…Nimiya-kun and I were walking back to my room to pick up our project for history when we noticed your door was open," said Miyako. "Since we knew you left after the exam…well, we were kind of suspicious, so we looked inside and saw…"

She trailed off, gesturing at the wreckage.

Karin's fists clenched, her mind going over everything. "Yuzu," she said.

"H-Hai," said Yuzu, looking up. She was biting her lip, her hands clasped in front of her.

"You said you came back from your room," said Karin, looking up at her.

Yuzu's eyes widened in understanding. She glanced at the clock. "Hai," she said. "Kohaku-chan and I were in my room about half an hour ago…Your room was closed then. I didn't notice anything."

"So whoever did this did it in thirty minutes," said Karin, looking around the room.

"Less," said Miyako. "Because I found this room five minutes ago."

"And I was standing around in the hallway for about ten minutes after Yuzu-chan left," said Kohaku. "So he or she had a fifteen minute window."

"Is that even possible?" asked Seiji from the doorway, scratching the back of his head.

"Of course," said Masaryu, looking up.

Karin glared up at him. The noble stepped into the room, walking into the center of the wreckage. Masaryu extended his arm towards Karin and Yuzu, motioning for them to move aside. Karin scowled, but stepped back anyway, pressing against the wall. He drew his sword in one fluid motion, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath.

Then, he began to slash, recreating the slashes around the room. He never moved from the center of the room, copying the slash marks almost perfectly. Karin tracked the movements with her eyes, frowning. This wasn't Masaryu's usual fighting style. She could tell that, considering how many times as she had sparred with him. He finished the motion with one slash, letting out a shout as he brought his sword down between the pieces of the desk. The entire time, he hadn't actually cut anything, his blade moving through the wreckage. He sheathed his sword and closed his eyes for a moment, before looking up.

"Did you see?" he asked, looking up at her.

The rest of her classmates stood, stunned. From behind her, she knew Yuzu was standing still, staring at Masaryu.

Karin nodded. "Whoever did this just came in and started swinging his sword randomly. Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes," said Masaryu. "This was the work of someone attempting to cause as much damage as possible in as little time as possible. They entered through the door and left through the window."

"Ah!" said Kohaku suddenly, making all of them turn towards her. She was on her knees, examining the door. "The lock was slashed too," she said.

Yuzu's eyes widened, and she pointed at something under the desk. "Karin-chan, Ankoujin-kun…" she said, making them turn towards her. They looked. Yuzu bent down, moving the wreckage of the writing desk aside. Two dark red drops lay on the ground, fallen next to each other. She reached out, touching one drop with the tip of her finger.

"…Blood," she said.

"That's what happens when you don't think about your attacks," said Masaryu, frowning. "He or she cut themselves on their sword."

"So we're dealing with a novice," said Karin.

"Good luck finding that, considering it's the fucking Shino Academy," muttered Kohaku under her breath, folding her arms. Yuzu blinked, looking up at her. Kohaku frowned. "What?" she asked, "I grew up in the Lower 20 Districts. I swear when I'm pissed."

Masaryu frowned. "It would have to be someone third year or above," he said. "A woman."

"What makes you say that?" asked Karin, turning towards him.

"Because she would have had to be waiting for Kurosaki Yuzu and Iwase to leave," said Masaryu. "She would probably have been outside in the hallway. You may have even passed her on your way out."

"I get it!" said Miyako, slamming her fist down onto her open palm. "If it were a boy, people would have noticed him hanging around the women's dorms and would have said something."

"And why would she have to be third year and above?" asked Karin.

"The sword," said Yuzu, frowning as she thought it over. "Furutani-sensei didn't start issuing us swords until this year, and we're in the top five classes."

"So we're looking for a woman, third year or above, with an injured hand," said Karin. She frowned. "…And with a grudge against me and Yuzu." She touched the family picture, setting it lightly on the window. "…This wasn't cut by a sword."

"Why would someone want to do this, though?" asked Yuzu. "We didn't do anything to anyone…"

"Can't you think of any reason why someone might harbor a grudge against you?" asked Masaryu, looking up. "Perhaps something you've recently done."

"No," said Yuzu. Her eyes widened as she remembered something. "W-Well…" Her eyes landed on Kohaku. Something the girl had said earlier stood out. _"I don't want to keep you from your meetings with captains…" _or something to that effect. Could somebody be jealous of them? Her eyes flicked over to Kohaku's sword. She still had a wooden sword, though, and her hand…

Her hand…

Her eyes widened and she thought back to their hakuda practice. Back then, hadn't Kohaku had a bandage wrapped around her right hand?

Yuzu's eyes widened sharply, and she turned back towards the other two.

"First, we need to report this to Onabara-sensei," said Miyako from the door. "Nimiya-kun and I will go."

"Mm," said Karin, nodding. "I'll go ask around and see if anyone's seen anything," she said.

"I'll come too," said Yuzu.

Karin shook her head. "No. They might still be waiting around out there. You should stay here in case they come back."

"I'll stay with you, Yuzu-chan," volunteered Kohaku, raising her hand.

"Mm," said Yuzu, nodding once.

"I'll accompany you, Kurosaki," said Masaryu, stepping forward.

Karin glared at him. "Why so interested all of a sudden?" she asked.

Masaryu frowned. "You wouldn't understand," he said. "It's a matter of honor."

She rolled her eyes. "Do whatever you want," she said, running out into the hallway. He nodded once, following her.

Yuzu watched them go, listening as their footsteps disappeared down the hallway. She took a deep breath, then turned to face Kohaku.

* * *

><p>"Kurosaki Isshin…" said Kukaku, sitting across from him on the floor. She leaned back against her cushions, looking at him. "Heh. That's not the name I know you by, but it'll do, I guess." She took a long drag from her pipe, exhaling smoke. "Want a smoke?" she asked.<p>

"Thanks, but I quit," said Isshin with a small grin.

"Seriously?" asked Kukaku, looking up at him. "I knew spending so much time in the living world was bad for you. Look what it did to that Urahara." She raised the pipe to her lips and exhaled another puff of smoke. "Well, whatever, I guess." She looked up at him. "So it's true you left to get married to some girl?"

"Aa," said Isshin, "Ichigo's mother. You've met him."

Kukaku grinned. "I knew that little shinigami brat reminded me of someone," she said. "So, you're back for good, then?"

"More or less," said Isshin. "I'm retired as a shinigami. I'll leave that to my children for now."

"Children?" asked Kukaku, frowning. "As in more than one?"

Isshin nodded. "My daughters," he said, with a proud grin. "They're twins, and they're third years at the Shino Academy."

"Someone actually stuck around with you long enough to have three kids?" asked Kukaku. "She must've been something." The woman leaned back, staring at him. "So," she said. "I'm guessing she ain't around anymore, or you'd still be down there with her."

Isshin's expression darkened for a moment, his fingers brushing against Engetsu's sheath. The sword lay on the ground beside him. "She was killed," he said. "By a Hollow."

Kukaku stared at him in silence for a moment, exhaling slowly. The smoke curled upwards, around her face. "Did you at least get the bastard that did it?" she asked.

Isshin nodded. "I did that much, at least."

"Good," she said. "So you're not completely useless." She paused, looking it over. "I guess _they're _not happy that you're back."

He gave her a small grin, scratching the back of his head. "They're a little upset, but what else is new?" he asked. He frowned, his expression growing slightly serious. "Kukaku…you haven't seen Sei around, have you?"

She scowled at him, as if the mention of the name left a bad taste in her mouth. "Sei?" she asked. "Like that bastard would ever dirty himself by setting foot in Rukongai."

"He can't have changed that much in less than thirty years…" said Isshin.

"Well, I wouldn't know, since he hasn't dropped by in that much time," said Kukaku. "Anyway, Sei's your problem, not mine. You go talk to him. Beat the shit out of him if he won't pay attention."

"I've tried, but he's not in a talking mood," said Isshin, frowning.

"That's what you beat him up for," said Kukaku. "Sheesh, haven't you learned anything?" She paused, considering something. "…Hey…speaking of Sei. That brat of his should be in the Academy now, shouldn't he?"

"What, you mean Masaryu?" asked Isshin, grinning. "He's in a class with one of my girls. And she doesn't like him much."

"Heh. Now if that isn't the coincidence of the year…" muttered Kukaku. She looked up at him. "You got anywhere to be? Ganju should be getting home soon."

"I'm not busy," said Isshin, grinning and leaning back. "So, I guess I'll be sticking around for a bit."

* * *

><p>Yuzu waited until they were gone before turning back towards her friend. Kohaku stood in the room next to her, surveying the wreckage. She watched her, noticing how Kohaku was rubbing at her right hand. It couldn't be true, could it?<p>

"Kohaku-chan…" said Yuzu, making the other girl look up.

"Hmm, Yuzu-chan?" she asked.

"Your hand…" said Yuzu. "How did you hurt it?"

"Eh?" asked Kohaku, glancing down at the cloth wrapped around her right hand. "I told you," she said. "When I was practicing hakuda yesterday, the padding slipped on the target and I ended up punching the wall." Her eyes widened. "Yuzu…you don't think…"

"I just need to be sure," said Yuzu. "You hurt it yesterday, right?"

"Yeah!" said Kohaku. "The bandage was even on while we were practicing earlier. Didn't you notice?"

"Mm…I noticed," said Yuzu. "It's just…" She shook her head. "I just needed to be sure, okay?"

"I don't even have a sword," said Kohaku. "And it's not like I have access to one." She frowned.

"Nozawa-kun's sword," said Yuzu, looking up at her. She took a deep breath. Once she started, she couldn't stop. It felt like she had pushed a boulder down a hill, and only momentum was carrying it forward now. "The one in my closet, that he asked me to hold onto until he could get it repaired. The one with the broken tsuba. You're the only person other than me and Nozawa-kun who knows about that sword." She hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath. "…When I ran to get Karin, I left my room unlocked. You said you were going to lock it for me. And…that sword, with a broken guard…"

She glanced down at Kohaku's injured hand again. The whole point of a tsuba was to keep the hand from sliding onto the blade during use. Yuzu had broken the tsuba on Nozawa's blade herself, during a clumsy attack while practicing for the zanjutsu exam. If somebody tried to use the sword in that condition, they would almost certainly cut themselves, which was why Nozawa had asked her to hold onto it until he could get it fixed after exams.

And Kohaku had been present for that spar, and for the arrangement between them…

Kohaku's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying, Yuzu?" she asked. "Do you think I would do something like this to you?"

Her friend faced her, her eyes narrowed dangerously. Yuzu took a deep breath, turning to face her as well.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	17. The true criminal revealed

**A/N: **And here's the conclusion to this little arc. Don't worry, it's not over yet, because there was a point to this whole thing, as far as character development goes, and that'll be revealed in the next one or two chapters (and Byakuya comes back to the story too!). And then we're off to our next time skip, although I might slow down and include the grave visit if you guys want.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17: The true criminal revealed<strong>

* * *

><p>The air in the room was tense as the two girls stared at each other. Kohaku glared at her friend, her hands lightly clenching into fists. "You're out of your mind," she said. "I didn't do it."<p>

"I really want to believe you, Kohaku-chan…" began Yuzu, looking down at the ground. She rubbed at her arm.

Kohaku's eyes narrowed. "You want proof?" she asked. "Here." She raised her hand, tugging on the free end of the bandage around it. It came loose, revealing bloody knuckles and a perfectly clear palm. Yuzu's eyes widened as Kohaku balled her hand up into a fist, thrusting it so that it was a few inches from Yuzu's face.

"See?" asked Kohaku, sounding hurt. "A hakuda injury. Just like I told you."

"K-Kohaku-chan…" said Yuzu, taking a step back. "I-I'm sorry. I just thought…"

"I know what you just thought," said Kohaku, pulling her hand back and replacing the bandages. "Here's this girl, fresh out of District 67, and here's me, who's never been further out than District 2. Whose brother is a hotshot captain. Who hangs out with nobles and captains and vice-captains like it's nobody's business. She's probably jealous of me. Well, newsflash, Yuzu, this isn't a detective story. It's not always the best friend."

Yuzu bit her lip. "Kohaku-chan…I'm sorry…" she said.

Kohaku sighed, running her hand through her brown hair. "Just so you know, I was never jealous of you. It's stupid to be jealous of someone just because they got a little luckier than you with where they started out. We're all going to end up at the same place eventually. And just so you know, I'm going all the way. I'm aiming to be a captain someday, so if you think that way, then stuff it. I was never jealous of you."

Yuzu's eyes widened and she looked away. A part of her was guilty that she had accused her friend like that, but part of her was relieved. She was thankful that it wasn't Kohaku. And she was glad that at least that was cleared up.

"I'm…" she began again.

"Hey, stop apologizing," said Kohaku, raising a hand to cut her off. "We're clear now, alright? Let's find out who did this. Then you can apologize by treating me to dinner."

Yuzu hesitated for a moment, looking up at her friend. Kohaku extended a hand, holding it out to her. "A-Alright…" she said, taking the hand and clasping it firmly. "Mm!" said Kohaku, nodding at her and shaking her hand once. The two of them let go, and Yuzu let out the breath she was holding.

"Alright," said Kohaku, looking around. "Let's figure this out. I'm not jealous of you, but obviously someone else is, and they want you to go home. We can rule out me, your sister, and Ankoujin, so who's left?"

"The rest of the Shino Academy?" asked Yuzu, holding up three fingers for the people they could rule out.

"Everyone third year and above anyway," said Kohaku. She frowned, folding her arms and pacing once up and down the length of the room. "But…something's odd about this. This isn't the sort of thing you do to someone you've only heard of. This is personal. So it's somebody you know. Or…not you. Somebody your sister knows."

"Eh?" asked Yuzu as Kohaku came to a stop, turning to look at her. "Somebody Karin-chan knows?"

"Compare what they did to you to what they did to her," said Kohaku, frowning. "This is personal."

She looked out the window, drumming her fingers on the windowsill for a moment. Then, she looked up. "Yuzu-chan…" she said. "Who was at the top when the Top 100 rankings came out for our year?" she asked.

"Ankoujin-kun and Karin-chan, tied for first," replied Yuzu automatically.

"Sou ka…" said Kohaku. "And who was second?"

"Second was…?" Yuzu's eyes widened as the name suddenly came to mind. "Aoyagi Miyako."

Aoyagi Miyako. Karin's friend from Class 1. The girl who had found the wreckage in the first place. Pictures suddenly flashed through her mind. The entire time Miyako had been in the group looking over the room, she had never entered the room. Instead, she had always stood behind Nimiya Seiji at the rear of the group.

…So that her _right hand _couldn't be seen.

Kohaku looked up sharply at her, their eyes meeting for a moment as the same thought suddenly occurred to them. The same Aoyagi Miyako had already run off to find Onabara-sensei.

"Let's go," said Kohaku, brushing past Yuzu and making for the door.

"But she could be anywhere!" said Yuzu, following her friend down the hallway.

"Not with that hand!" said Kohaku, turning around to face her. "She knows we're looking for a girl with an injured hand. She's probably half way to the infirmary to get that treated."

The two of them turned right at the same time, running out of the doors and into the courtyard. The sun was already starting to set, the courtyard bathed in orange light. The two of them ran down the hallway, Kohaku slightly in the lead as they made their way towards the main building and the infirmary.

About halfway there, Yuzu skid to a sudden stop. Kohaku stopped as well, just a moment after she did. Two Academy students were slipping out of the side door of the building, one in a red uniform and one in a blue one.

Aoyagi Miyako and Nimiya Seiji.

Miyako looked up at her. The girl's eyes widened for a moment, before she raised her hand. "Kurosaki-san!" she said. "Weren't you supposed to be waiting in the room?"

Yuzu's eyes widened and she looked up at the other girl, looking down at her right hand. There wasn't a single scratch on it. "I was," said Yuzu. "But weren't you supposed to be seeing Onabara-sensei, Aoyagi-san?"

Miyako's eyes narrowed. "What about it?" she asked.

"It's just a little weird, 'cause his office is on the other side of the building," said Kohaku with a slight grin, folding her arms and looking up at them.

The pair shared surprised glances.

"Why'd you do it, Aoyagi-san?" asked Yuzu, stepping forward so that she was behind Kohaku.

Miyako looked at Yuzu for a moment, before she scowled and her face contorted into an expression of anger. "Why'd I do it?" she asked. "Why do you think? I was supposed to be the best in the school! Alright, fine, so maybe I could lose to Ankoujin—he's a freaking _noble_—but along come you and your _sister_—." She almost spat out the word. "—straight out of Seireitei. You didn't have to go through what any of us went through. You didn't grow up in Rukongai. You just wanted to get into the Academy and you got it, just because you're Kurosaki Ichigo's little sisters! And you think you have the right to take this from me?"

"Why is this so important to you, Aoyagi-san?" asked Yuzu, taking a deep breath.

"Because I was born to be the best! I was born to be a shinigami! I _was_—!"

"Miyako!" said Seiji from beside her, cutting her off.

Miyako took a deep breath, turning towards Yuzu. The other girl stood her ground, facing her. Yuzu's amber eyes hardened, suddenly reminiscent of her brother's. Miyako's eyes narrowed.

"What's with the look in your eyes?" she asked, angrily. "Are you pitying me?"

"Aoyagi-san…" began Yuzu.

"I'll teach you not to pity me!" said Miyako. "Seiji!" Her sword came free from its sheath with a hiss as she jumped forward, charging towards Yuzu. Seiji nodded, drawing his own sword. Yuzu drew her blade, blocking Miyako's attack with a clang. Kohaku ran forward, drawing her wooden sword and sidestepping Seiji's attack. She swung her wooden sword in an arc, slamming it down hard on Seiji's hands. He slashed at her and she jumped back, raising her sword to parry the blow. He sliced through the wood easily, cutting about two inches off the top of the sword.

"Don't tell me you're seriously going to fight me with a wooden sword," he said to Kohaku as she raised her broken sword again, pointing it at him.

"Kohaku-chan!" said Yuzu, looking up from her own crossed swords at her friend.

"Don't worry about me, Yuzu-chan!" said Kohaku, looking up. "I'll teach this bastard not to mess with girls from lower Rukongai."

Looking away from Kohaku was probably the hardest thing she had ever had to do since coming to Soul Society. Yuzu took a deep breath and tore her eyes away, focusing on her opponent long enough to block another strike. "I'm over here, Kurosaki-san!" said Miyako with a grin, pushing against Yuzu's sword. She pushed back, the two blades sliding forward until the guards crashed against each other.

The two of them jumped back at the same time, before coming close together again in a series of blocks and slashes. Beside her, Kohaku and Seiji jumped together again, Kohaku dodging Seiji's blow and using her wooden sword as a cudgel, slamming it into the back of his head. Seiji grunted in pain and whirled around, and Kohaku let out a shout. Yuzu heard the sound of fabric ripping and her eyes widened. She looked up just in time to see Kohaku jumping back, her hand pressed against a wound on her chest. Her eyes were fixed on Seiji, and there was nothing but hate in them.

"Kohaku-chan!" called Yuzu again.

"I said don't worry about me!" said Kohaku. "Focus on your own fight already!"

Yuzu took in a sharp breath and slashed out at an advancing Miyako. The girl jumped back, landing gracefully and holding her sword out in front of her. Yuzu's eyes narrowed and her hands clasped around the hilt of her sword tightly as she charged towards Miyako, letting out a shout. Her blade caught the other girl's in the side and she twisted, feeling Miyako's sword come free. It landed point down in the ground beside her, and Miyako jumped back, breathing hard.

"Not bad," she said. "You're pretty good, Kurosaki Yuzu. But I heard you were good at zanjutsu. So let's level the playing field a little."

She extended her hand towards Yuzu, a grin spreading over her face. "Bakudo 4: Hainawa!"

A rope of yellow energy shot out from Miyako's hand. Yuzu's eyes widened and she jumped back to avoid the binding spell, only to feel pressure on her own hands. She looked down. Miyako's Hainawa had coiled around her sword. She realized what was going on only a moment before the other girl tugged, pulling Yuzu's blade out of her hand and sending it spiraling through the air.

That was all the warning she had before Miyako suddenly charged at her, her fist burying itself in her gut.

Yuzu gasped, feeling the wind getting knocked out of her as her body pitched forward. Miyako's free hand collided with the side of her face, sending her rolling onto the ground.

"_Yuzu-chan!" _she heard Kohaku call out. Her friend let out another shout as Seiji managed to land another hit. Yuzu's eyes widened, her fist shaking as she tried to muster up the energy to move. She was still gasping for breath from Miyako's hit. She rolled over, avoiding a kick from the other girl as she tried to push herself to her feet, breathing heavily as she moved her hands into a clumsy hakuda stance. Miyako looked up at her and smirked, then ran in again straight between her hands, sending an open-palmed strike to Yuzu's chin before sending another one to her chest. Yuzu grunted as the blows hit her, spinning in the air once before falling onto the ground. She looked up, seeing Miyako advance. Kohaku was on her knees on the ground, clutching a cut on her shoulder. Her wooden sword had been cut to pieces. Seiji walked up to her, raising his free hand.

And suddenly found himself turning in a hurry to parry Masaryu's blade.

Before Yuzu could process this, Karin jumped in front of her, letting out a shout and throwing a punch straight at Miyako's face. Miyako dodged the punch, only to find herself blocking a strike to the gut. Karin let out a shout, her eyes glowing blue for a moment as pale blue reiatsu surrounded her. Even from where she lay on the ground, she could sense her sister's spiritual pressure. Yuzu's eyes widened.

Yachiru was right. In many ways, Karin was a lot like their brother.

Karin spun around, kicking Miyako in the side. She flew off, landing on the ground and rolling twice the same way Yuzu did. The enraged Kurosaki didn't wait for her to get up, walking over to her and grabbing her by the front of her uniform. She picked Miyako up, pinning her against a tree with one hand.

"Don't you dare mess with me or my sister again!" shouted Karin. "Or I _will _kill you! Got it?"

Miyako stared at her for a moment, before she slowly nodded her head.

Karin glared at her and let go, and she slumped against a tree. She turned back to Yuzu, who was struggling to a crouched position, one arm wrapped around her stomach. To her left, Masaryu was sheathing his sword, a bleeding Seiji on the ground. There was a small whooshing sound, and Yuzu looked up suddenly as she saw Onabara-sensei and Furutani-sensei standing in the field, having obviously just flash stepped in. They didn't say anything, Furutani walking in and grabbing Seiji as Onabara picked up Miyako. Yuzu looked around in confusion.

"Sensei…" she began, looking at Furutani-sensei.

"Ankoujin noticed something was wrong almost as soon as we left, so we went to get the teachers," said Karin with a small huff, walking over to Yuzu and extending her hand. Yuzu reached out and took it, grunting in pain as her sister pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Yuzu hesitated for a moment. "I'll be…alright…" she said, in between gasps for breath. Her eyes widened, and she turned towards her friend. "Kohaku-chan!"

"She's fine," said Masaryu. He looked up at Yuzu, and Yuzu noticed that he had Kohaku's uninjured arm slung over his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist. The girl dangled off him, but she looked up at Yuzu and gave her a confident grin. "Or, rather, she'll be fine." The Ankoujin heir was watching her, an unreadable expression in his face. Yuzu stared at his free hand, noticing that he was holding a sword, but his own sword was sheathed at his waist.

He held it up to her, turning it around in his hand so that he offered her the hilt.

She nodded in thanks, taking it and sliding it back into its sheath.

"Everyone to the infirmary now," said Onabara-sensei. "We'll sort this out later!"

Karin, Masaryu, Yuzu, and Kohaku nodded. Neither Miyako nor Seiji moved. The group turned, as one heading towards the infirmary.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Omake: <strong>

Karin lay with her back propped up against the Tenth Division's couch, her fingers moving quickly over the keys of the PSP her brother had brought back for her from the World of the Living. Behind her, Toshiro was…for some reason she couldn't fathom, looking into the mirror that Matsumoto usually used.

"Karin?"

"Hmm, Toshiro?" replied Karin distractedly, tilting her PSP and clicking away. Her tongue poked out between her lips as she pressed the keys together more furiously.

"What would you do if I grew out my hair?"

"I'd follow you around and play One Winged Angel every time you used Bankai."

"What?" asked Toshiro, confused.

"Nothing," said Karin, returning to her game.


	18. Strength in flowers

**A/N: **I'm going to have a brief interlude for the summer festival between time skips, and it'll be kind of a romantic chapter. Also, sorry this one is kind of late, but it's my birthday on Monday, so my friends and I were celebrating. This chapter might be a bit short too, but enjoy! Next chapter, the summer festival!

And yes, I did reference the omake in this chapter, haha.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 18: Strength in flowers<strong>

* * *

><p>The morning dawned bright and clear, scattering the mists that still clung to the ground and carrying with it the promise of a hot summer day. Yuzu shielded her eyes from the sun and smiled, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Karin stood behind her, grinning as well.<p>

"Ready to go?" asked Karin, turning to her sister.

"Mm!" said Yuzu, nodding.

"So, where's our first stop?" asked Karin.

"Hmm…home to drop off our things, and then on to the Kuchiki Manor to have lunch with Rukia-nee," replied Yuzu.

Karin sighed, scratching the back of her head. "That was today?" she asked.

"Don't tell me you forgot, Karin-chan…" said Yuzu with a concerned frown. Karin shook her head.

"That place gives me the creeps," she said.

"You just don't like Kuchiki-dono," said Yuzu as they began to walk.

"That too," said Karin, frowning. Both of them stopped, turning to the right at the same time as another Academy student passed them, a bag slung over his shoulder. Karin scowled. Yuzu took a deep breath.

"Ankoujin-kun!" she called. He stopped and turned towards her, raising an eyebrow.

"Have a good summer," said Yuzu, smiling.

He stared at her for a moment, as if uncertain how to reply to that. Finally, he nodded. "Aa," he said. "You too."

They exchanged a polite nod, and Ankoujin Masaryu turned away again, walking further into Seireitei.

"Che…" said Karin as he left, folding her arms.

* * *

><p>Byakuya raised the cup of tea to his lips, calmly taking a sip. He held the cup in both hands, bringing it down to his lap and opening his eyes slowly.<p>

"Kurosaki Ichigo," he said.

"Hn?" asked Ichigo, from where he was lying back on the porch, his hands clasped behind his head and his eyes fixed on the portion of the sky that was peeking out from beyond the rooftop.

"Remind me again why you are in my house."

"Rukia said I could come over," replied the Fifth Squad captain. He raised his arms over his head and pulled himself into a sitting position, crossing his legs and looking out at the spar going on in the garden.

"Hm," said Byakuya in reply, taking another sip of tea as he watched the spar as well.

Yuzu raised her hand, clumsily blocking another of Karin's strikes. The force behind the strike sent her skidding back slightly, her stance becoming unstable. Her twin spun around, bringing her hand up again. Yuzu raised her hand to block, but with her footing unstable, the blow quickly sent her spinning out of control and onto her rear end. Karin sighed, running a hand through her hair and helping her up.

"S-Sorry about that, Karin-chan…" said Yuzu, accepting her sister's hand and getting pulled back to her feet.

"No problem," said Karin, frowning worriedly down at her. "How about we call it quits? You're worn out."

It was true too. The girl's face was flushed, and her dark blond hair clung to her forehead with sweat. Clearly it had taken a lot out of her to keep up with her more athletic sister. Yuzu was catching up in that department, but in terms of pure physical strength, Karin would always be a step ahead. That wasn't even taking into account the difference of personality between them. While Karin was brash and took everything head-on, Yuzu was more thoughtful and more hesitant to confront someone. The differences had become increasingly clear as the spar went on.

He took another sip of his tea as the girl wiped at her face with her hand.

"No, I'm fine, Karin-chan," she said. "We can continue."

Karin frowned. "Why is this so important?" she asked. "You passed your exam. We're both going on to fourth year."

Yuzu shrugged and didn't reply, and Byakuya noticed that the youngest Kurosaki looked away before answering. "I just felt like I needed practice."

"Well, enough practice," said Karin. "You're just going to hurt yourself." She patted Yuzu once on the shoulder, then turned back towards Byakuya and Ichigo. His eyes flicked over to the girl as she walked over to her brother, dropping down beside him with a sigh. Yuzu looked down at the ground for a moment, fingering the sleeve of her Academy uniform. She took a deep breath, then turned as well, putting a smile onto her face and going to sit on Ichigo's other side. She scooted over to him, and Ichigo sighed, lifting his arm and allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.

The Kuchiki head looked away from the display of sibling affection, taking another sip of his tea. His own sister had left the mansion grounds for a moment to deliver Yachiru back to the Eleventh Division, from which she would no doubt return in an hour, in just enough time for lunch. Byakuya sighed inwardly and wondered why nobody had as of yet been able to invent a Yachiru-proof lock.

Perhaps now that the girl was starting to grow into the stage that the living called 'preteen', she would grow out of her ridiculous habits. Or perhaps, and even more likely, she would simply use her advancing age to grow more skilled at them.

He made a mental note to ask the Twelfth if they couldn't invent some device to keep that infernal child out of his manor.

So absorbed was he in his thoughts, that he didn't notice Rukia standing next to him. Her voice didn't register the first two times she called out to him, but he did hear her third, and more insistent, "Nii-sama!" followed by Kurosaki Ichigo's more impolite and impatient "Oi, Byakuya!". His eyes snapped open and he turned to look at her, ignoring the orange-haired captain who scratched his head and muttered under his breath.

"Sheesh, were you asleep or something?" he asked.

"What is it, Rukia?" asked Byakuya, looking up at his sister.

"I've returned Kusajishi-fukutaicho to her division," said Rukia, removing her zanpakuto from its sash and sitting in seiza next to him. "Maki also asked me to inform you that lunch will be served in half an hour."

He nodded, absorbing the information. "Did you encounter any problems?" he asked.

"Iie, none at all…" said Rukia. Her face flushed slightly and she looked away from him for a moment. Byakuya raised an eyebrow, studying her. She looked…embarrassed about something? Something to do with the diminutive fukutaicho? He would have to look into that. Rukia looked up, as if suddenly remembering something. "I almost forgot," she said, turning towards Karin. "Karin-chan, Hitsugaya-taicho asked me to give this to you. He said you left it at the Tenth."

She reached into her sleeve, pulling out a strange device. It looked like some sort of contraption from the living world. The device was black, with the letters PSP written under the screen.

"Ah, Toshiro did?" asked Karin, taking the device from her. "I'll drop by and thank him later. Thanks, Rukia-nee."

"It was nothing," said Rukia.

Byakuya frowned, noting the slight flush as the girl put the strange device away. It didn't go missed by Kurosaki Ichigo, who raised an eyebrow at his sister. She said nothing, lacing her fingers together and leaning back.

* * *

><p>Karin didn't really like the Kuchiki Manor all that much. She liked Rukia just fine, and didn't mind heading there to hang out with her, and Byakuya was a prick, but he wasn't actually <em>that <em>bad, but the whole place stank of nobility, and it made her feel uncomfortable just being there, almost like the walls themselves were looking down on her. She didn't mention this to Rukia or to Ichigo, and she was sure that Yuzu understood it without her having to say anything.

In all honesty, she was glad for the excuse to leave early, so as soon as lunch was over and people were starting to leave, she had excused herself to go head over to the Tenth Division, saying that she wanted to catch Toshiro while he was on break so that she wouldn't bother him. Yuzu had stayed—she didn't have the same problem with the Manor as Karin did, and Rukia and Ichigo were probably heading back to work right now.

Toshiro was in his office when she found him, sitting behind his desk. Karin frowned, stepping into the room. He looked up when she entered.

"Don't you ever take a break?" she asked, walking over to his desk and folding her arms.

"Matsumoto takes enough breaks for the both of us," said Toshiro, shooting a glare at his vice-captain's empty desk. "You didn't happen to see her on the way in?"

"Not a sign," said Karin.

Toshiro frowned, glancing down at the paperwork on his desk. He signed off on another form, setting it aside. "Do you need something?" he asked.

Karin shook her head. "No," she said. "Just wanted to thank you for dropping this off." She held up the PSP that Rukia had handed her. Toshiro looked up, glancing at it.

"It was nothing," he said. "I was going to wait till you came back to give it to you, but I saw Kuchiki Rukia and remembered you said you were having lunch with her today." He frowned at her. "Are you heading back?" he asked.

"No way," said Karin. "I was looking for an excuse to leave anyway. I'm just gonna crash here for a bit, if you don't mind." She walked over to the couch and dropped down, grinning at him.

For some odd reason, Toshiro glanced away, his eyes fixing on the corner of the desk. And…was it just her imagination, or did his face flush slightly?

"Ah, about that, Karin, I've been meaning to ask you…" he said.

"Hmm?" asked Karin, looking up.

"The summer festival."

Karin frowned. "Yeah?" she asked. "What about it?"

"Do you want to go?" he asked.

She leaned back in the couch as she thought about it, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, yeah, I mean, I went last year and it was a lot of fun, so I'll probably be going again and—." Toshiro raised an eyebrow at her, his fingers closing a little tightly over her paperwork, and Karin looked up, understanding suddenly hitting her. "—Oh," she said. "Oh, you mean go…with you…"

He nodded once. "Do you want to?" he asked.

"Uh…sure…" said Karin. She coughed into the side of her fist. "I mean…uh…sounds fun." The awkwardness in the room was almost palpable. Karin cleared her throat, her face flushing slightly as she looked away.

"I'll…uh…meet you at the southern gate at seven, then?"

"Sure…" said Karin. "Uh…seven sounds…fun…" She finished weakly. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest for a reason she couldn't name and she took a deep breath to try and calm down. This was _Toshiro_, who she had been friends with for _years_. It was normal for friends to go to festivals together. So why was her heart beating fast now?

He didn't say anything for a few long moments, before clearing his throat and going back to his paperwork, his face still slightly flushed. Karin took a deep breath and forced herself to relax, going back to leaning against the couch.

* * *

><p>He found Kurosaki Yuzu in the garden, standing, ironically, in the same place he used to practice kendo when he was younger. She was running through several hakuda stances, awkwardly shifting from stance to stance. He watched her for a few moments, a frown on his face. As she finished the kata she was going over, he cleared his throat, interrupting her. She whirled around quickly at the sound, her face reddening.<p>

"Ku-Kuchiki-dono!" she said, going into a hasty bow. "I…uh…your garden…sorry."

Byakuya walked past her calmly, not looking at her as he spoke. Out of the corner of her eye, he saw her shifting nervously, her hands clasped in front of her. "While you are a guest in this house, you are, of course, free to wander anywhere on the grounds that you will, as long as the area is not locked or sealed," he said.

"Y-Yes…" said Yuzu. He glanced at her, watching as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. "Y-Yes, I understand that. I just—."

He raised a hand to stop her and she stopped with a small squeak, looking up at him. "I am, of course, curious as to why you are practicing hakuda in my garden even after you were told to stop. Dedication is…admirable, but training yourself to the point of injury is only for the desperate or the foolish." He turned his head towards her. "While your...family history may indicate otherwise, in my limited knowledge, you have never struck me as foolish."

She looked away, her fingers twisting around each other in a way that indicated she was nervous. He waited, unmoving. When she finally did speak, it came as a soft murmur.

"You heard about the incident at the Academy?" she asked, not looking directly at him, but speaking instead to his feet.

He gave her a curt nod. "Rukia informed me of the altercation," he said. "She mentioned that your sister came to your aid after you were defeated in hand-to-hand combat."

She nodded once. "Karin…protected me. I'm thankful for that."

"But?" he prompted.

Yuzu hesitated for just a moment. "…When she died, it was also because she was protecting me…" she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I know…I'm not that strong. I'm not as strong as Karin-chan or Ichi-nii. I don't have their power. When I was alive, I couldn't even see spirits, I was only sensitive to their presence. But…I don't want…I don't want to see any of my siblings get hurt again because they're protecting me."

"They do their duty by doing so," said Byakuya, coolly.

"…I know…and I'm thankful, I really am…" said Yuzu, looking down at the ground. "But…I thought…maybe if I got a little stronger, that they wouldn't need to protect me so often. That maybe I could return the favor once in a while. As it is…I feel like I'm…" Her eyes flicked over to one of the plants in his garden for a moment. "…like I'm a little flower everyone has to protect…" she said.

She fell silent, staring down at the ground. Byakuya looked away from her. He said nothing for a few long moments, his hand slipping down to rest against Senbonzakura's hilt. Slowly, he looked up at her.

"There is strength in flowers," he commented.

She looked up at him, confused. "Hmm?" she asked, her hands clasped close to her chest.

Byakuya didn't respond, taking a step forward. "If you continue to fight the way you have been fighting, then of course, you will always lose," he said.

"I—I know…" said Yuzu. "Because I'm not strong. I need to train harder."

"No," said Byakuya. "This has nothing to do with training."

Yuzu bit her lip. "So I really am hopeless then…" she said.

"I did not say that," said Byakuya, causing her to look up. The Kuchiki head turned towards her, frowning. "Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Ichigo. The two of them are similar in personality and in power, and as such, it transcends into the way that they fight. As both of them are powerful physically and in terms of reiatsu, they have never had any issue with the use of brute force. Their fighting styles are…harder…if you will."

He frowned at her. "However…your own power is not negligible, it simply manifests differently. Your personality is completely different from that of your brother and your sister. You are not capable of being hard. Therefore, in your fighting style, you should attempt to be soft."

Yuzu frowned at him. "What do you mean, Kuchiki-dono?" she asked.

"When you block an attack, do not attempt to stop it head-on. Instead, go with the motion and redirect it, maneuvering your opponent into a position advantageous for you. When you attack, consider your opponent's weak points and openings, and do not just lash out wildly. Those of us who lack simple brute force must make up for their lack with control."

Yuzu frowned at him for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"Could you…could you show me?" she asked.

Byakuya frowned at her for a moment, before turning around to face her fully. "Very well," he said. "I will attempt to. Attack me."

Yuzu nodded, taking a deep breath before she raised her hands and rushed towards him.

* * *

><p>The Ankoujin Family Manor…<p>

Ankoujin Masaryu sighed, walking through the gate that led into the compound. Servants who passed by bowed at him, greetings of "Welcome back, Masaryu-sama," sounding from left to right. He didn't respond, continuing to walk towards the house. He had learned long ago that attempting to respond to every single one of them would make him look like one of those bobble head dolls his grandfather had shown him from the human world. There were only a few people whose greetings he would respond to with one of his own—his manservant, the maid who cleaned his quarters, and of course, his family.

He handed his pack to a servant at the door, running a hand through his short black hair and sighing as he walked into the house. He walked into the hallway towards his room and stopped, a frown on his face. A man with long brown hair stood in the hallway, dressed in dark green. His eyes were the same shade of blue as Masaryu's. Masaryu bowed politely towards the man.

"Otou-sama," he said. "I've returned from the Academy."

"I can see that, Masaryu, " said his father, the man who would become the next head of their clan. He smiled at him fondly. "Did everything go well?"

"I was…almost top of my class…" he said, his face reddening slightly as he admitted his failure.

His father smiled at him, although this time, the smile did not reach his eyes. Masaryu looked away.

"I'm sure you're tired, so I won't keep you standing out here," he said. "When you've rested a bit, join us for dinner. Your grandfather will be dining with us."

"Of course, otou-sama," said Masaryu, bowing again. He walked past his father, heading towards his room. His hand had just landed on the sliding door when his father called him back.

"Masa."

The sound of his childhood nickname made him look up. His father turned towards him and gave him a small smile. "We _are _very proud of you. You know that, right?"

Masaryu hesitated for only a moment. "Hai…otou-sama…" he said.

"Good," said his father. "I'll see you at dinner."

Masaryu nodded, turning around and stepping into his room. He closed the door behind him, sighing as his eyes flicked over to his writing desk. Someone, probably the maid, had found the picture frame he had tossed under his bed and placed it back on top of his desk. He frowned, glancing at it. Most of the picture was blocked out from the glare of the sun through his window, but in it, he could see himself as a child, grinning up at the camera from on top of the shoulders of a dark-haired shinigami captain.

He reached out, placing his fingers on the top of the frame and pushing it so that it fell facedown on top of his desk.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	19. The first touches of summer

**A/N: **Soooo yes…sorry that this took so long. I was suddenly inspired to pick this story up again. I really apologize for making you guys wait for so long. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. There's a twist in this chapter that wasn't supposed to be revealed until later, but you guys have waited long enough.

I know some of you were looking for Hitsu x Karin fluffiness, and that WILL come up in the next chapter. I promise. It's just hard to get those two to be fluffy under normal conditions. They're the type of reaction that needs a catalyst to make it go. [/chemmajor]

Also, I have a way for you guys to get involved in the story. I'm leaving it up to you, the reviewers, to help me design villains to include in the future. If you have any ideas for appearances, histories, powers, or zanpakutos, feel free to message me or post it in a review. I'm willing to work with shinigami, Arrancar, or even human villains, if you give me interesting enough ideas. ^^

Thanks for all your continued support!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

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><p><strong>Chapter 19: The first touches of summer<strong>

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><p>"Ah, the summer festival!" said Kurosaki Isshin as he stepped out through his front door, dressed in a black yukata. It was a warm summer night, and the lights of the summer festival twinkled beyond the walls of Seireitei. "What a perfect night for a man to spend with his beloved children!"<p>

"Pass," said Karin dryly, raising one hand as she walked past him. Isshin froze. Karin was dressed in a black yukata as well, with light blue and white flowers trailing along the bottom part of the garment and held together by a light blue obi. Her usually tied back black hair was let down. It had gotten long enough to fall past her shoulders slightly. He blinked at her. She gave him a flat look.

"What?" she asked.

"Ah…well, is that a new yukata?" asked Isshin.

Karin's face flushed and she looked away, folding her arms. "So what if it is?" she asked. "See you later."

"I'll walk you there," said Ichigo, stepping out of the house as well. He dodged his father's sudden grab, placing his hand on Karin's head. He was dressed in a dark blue yukata, and was frowning.

"Eh, Ichigo, you're not coming with me either?" asked Isshin.

"Tch, as if," said Ichigo, he and Karin both beginning to walk towards Seireitei.

Isshin sighed heavily and turned towards his youngest child. Yuzu was dressed in a light yellow yukata, her arms clasped in front of her as she watched her siblings leave. "Well, it looks like it's just you and me, Yuzu," he said.

Yuzu looked away, shifting uncomfortably. "A-Ano…about that…otou-san…"

"_Yuzu-chan!" _

Both Kurosakis looked up at the sound of the voice to see Kohaku standing at the end of the street, waving her arm in the air. She was dressed in a pale blue yukata with a floral print. "Are you ready to go?"

"Hai, Kohaku-chan!" said Yuzu, cupping her hands over her mouth so that her voice would carry. "I'll be right there!" She turned towards Isshin, smiling apologetically.

Isshin raised his hands in a grand gesture. "Masaki!" he wailed. "Our children are all leaving me behind!" he wailed.

"You can come if you want…" said Yuzu. "Um…I don't mind."

"It's alright," said Isshin with a heavy sigh. "Just come back for the fireworks display."

"Hai!" said Yuzu, smiling brightly before running off to join her friend.

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><p>She found Toshiro standing just inside the Southern Gate, dressed in a dark green yukata. Karin had hardly seen him in anything besides his shinigami uniform since she had come to Soul Society, so the sight of him was a little different. She unconsciously adjusted her new yukata, straightening it out slightly. Ichigo's eyes followed the movement, and his frown deepened. She stepped forward, raising her hand.<p>

"Toshiro!" she called.

He looked up at her, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly as he noticed what she was wearing. "Uh…Karin…" he began as she walked up to him. "You look…uh…you look nice."

Ichigo cleared his throat, causing the two of them to jump and look up. The older Kurosaki sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, don't get in too much trouble," he said.

Karin snorted, folding her arms. "As if you have to worry about that," she said.

"Keep an eye out for her, Toshiro," said Ichigo.

Toshiro gave him a flat look. "It's Hitsugaya-taicho to you," he said.

Ichigo sighed, raising a hand. "Whatever," he said. "See you in a bit."

The fifth squad captain turned, walking through the gates and into Seireitei. Karin frowned, noticing the path that Ichigo was taking. "Hey! Where are you going?" she asked. "The festival's not that way."

"Gotta meet with someone first," he replied, not turning his head.

Karin smirked. "Oh, I see," she said, as Ichigo flash stepped away. "Say hello to Rukia-chan for me!"

Her brother said nothing, disappearing off into the city. Karin watched him go, then turned back towards Toshiro. "Ready to go?" she asked.

He nodded once, and the two of them entered Seireitei.

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><p>The Kuchiki Family Manor seemed somber compared to the rest of Seireitei at this time, lit only by the lamps that surrounded the perimeter. Ichigo landed smoothly on the ground, straightening up and walking up the path towards the house. He moved slowly, mindful of the figure that stood with his arms folded near the door, a frown on his face as he watched him.<p>

"Is Rukia ready?" he asked as he walked up the steps, pausing for a moment beside the man.

Byakuya nodded once. "She is inside," he said.

Ichigo nodded once. "You aren't going to the festival?" he asked.

The older Kuchiki shook his head. "I have no desire to attend this year's festivities. I will attend the ceremony in the morning."

Ichigo shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, taking a step forward.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

He paused, glancing back at the other captain.

"Anything that my sister does reflects on me. Do not bring dishonor onto the Kuchiki family, or I will be forced to take action."

Ichigo said nothing for a moment, mostly because he was sure that Byakuya wasn't simply talking about tonight's festival. He held the other man's stare for a little while before nodding once. Considering how he had acted with Toshiro earlier, he couldn't blame Byakuya.

"Aa," he said. "That's the last thing you have to worry about."

"Express my regrets to Abarai for not attending his gathering."

He recognized a dismissal from Byakuya when he heard it. Ichigo nodded once in reply, continuing into the house. Byakuya watched him go, then turned slowly, walking down the porch and disappearing into the night.

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><p>The festival encompassed the outer ring of Seireitei, and the inner ring of the first districts of Rukongai. It was held every year to commemorate the coming of summer, and to celebrate another year spent protecting Soul Society. Karin had been to the festival three times since coming to Seireitei, but as she walked through the streets with Toshiro, she noticed something odd. The usual crowd of drunk and disorderly patrons that hung around the outskirts of bars seemed to be thinner tonight.<p>

"Looks quieter than normal," she said.

Toshiro glanced over at the side of the road, following her gaze. He nodded once. "The Eleventh has festival duty this year. They'll take any excuse to start a fight."

"You'd think there'd be more trouble, not less," Karin commented.

"If you knew Zaraki-taichou was on the prowl, you'd behave yourself too."

"Point taken."

Karin sighed, raising her arms up and placing her hands behind her head. She wasn't sure how to act in a situation like this, and in the back of her mind, she knew that it shouldn't be so hard. She and Toshiro had done a lot of things together before without any of this awkwardness. Why would this be any different? Sure he had invited her, but that didn't mean they were on a date.

Or did it?

She definitely wasn't going to ask him to clarify it for her. If he said no, she would be embarrassed. If he said yes…well, she didn't want to think that far.

"I heard one of your classmates manifested a zanpakuto," said Toshiro, breaking the silence. He handed her a small plate of takoyaki he had bought from one of the street vendors. She took it from him, nodding once in thanks.

"Yeah, Ishizaki," she said, shrugging and spearing one of the takoyaki onto the stick. "It happened during exams."

"What about you?" he asked.

Karin frowned. "I've started hearing a voice during _jinzen_, but that's about it. It'll come out and disappear, come out again and disappear again. I think my zanpakuto's playing with me."

"Give it time," said Toshiro. "Some people have difficult zanpakuto spirits, and it takes a while for them to manifest."

"When did you get yours?" asked Karin, taking a bite.

Toshiro frowned, falling silent. He folded his arms "Second quarter," he finally said.

Karin blinked. "Of third year?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The white-haired captain sighed. "No, first," he said. "I graduated in one year."

Her eyes widened. "One _year_?" she repeated.

"You know you can take the qualifying examinations at any time," said Toshiro.

"I know _that_, but _one year_?" asked Karin. "That's just—damn, Toshiro."

"It's not that surprising," said Toshiro, clearly uncomfortable. "I had been having dreams of Hyorinmaru since before I entered the academy."

"Dreams?" asked Karin. She realized that Toshiro hardly ever talked about his past. She knew that he had grown up with Hinamori in Rukongai, but beyond that, she had no idea.

"When you have a high enough level of reiryoku and no training, it tends to manifest in unpleasant ways. Can we change the subject?"

Karin blinked at him. "Ah—sure," she said. She was still surprised at the revelation. She knew that people called Toshiro a child genius, but she was only starting to realize how apt that title was. Toshiro turned towards her, looking at her for a moment.

"It's a nice yukata," he finally said. "Is it new?"

Karin's face flushed and she glanced away. "Yeah…" she said. "Yuzu helped me pick it out."

"It suits you."

"Thanks," said Karin, feeling her face heat up. She quickly changed the subject. "What did you wanna do first?"

"I was thinking we could find a place to eat," said Toshiro. "As long as it's not by the West Gate."

"What's wrong with the West Gate?" asked Karin, frowning.

"Matsumoto is attending a party in the area."

Just the thought of an intoxicated Matsumoto finding them and causing a scene was enough to make her cringe. Toshiro glanced at her expression and nodded once to show that the feeling was mutual.

"Yeah, let's not go there," said Karin. "How about—?"

A figure clad in a deep blue yukata bumped into her shoulder, cutting her off and nearly knocking her over. The plate of takoyaki fell over, spilling onto the front of her yukata and falling onto the ground. Toshiro quickly grabbed onto her arm, keeping her upright. She straightened up and clenched her fist, turning around quickly. Her eyes narrowed as she saw who it was.

"Oi, Ankoujin!" she yelled. "The least you could do is apologize!"

Masaryu turned his head, his blue eyes cold as he looked her over. "Oh. Kurosaki," he said quietly. "I didn't see you there." He inclined his head respectfully towards Toshiro. "Hitsugaya-taicho."

"Don't give me that," said Karin. "You _knew _I was here. You did that on purpose!"

His eyes narrowed. "I have better things to do with my time, Kurosaki."

"So you're telling me _this _was an accident?" asked Karin, gesturing at the stain on her new yukata. Masaryu frowned, tilting his head slightly.

"You mean that wasn't how it was when you bought it?" he asked.

Karin tensed. Toshiro's hand reflexively tightened on her arm, drawing her back slightly. She took a deep breath, yanking her arm out of his hold.

"You know what?" she asked, glaring at Masaryu. "I'm _tired _of this crap. You want to fight me? Fine. Let's settle this once and for all. One hour, Soukyoku Hill. Be there."

She pushed past him, storming angrily down the street.

"Karin!" called Toshiro sharply, heading down the street after her. She ignored him, her fists clenched at her side as she made her way back to the Academy, her eyes shadowed by her hair.

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><p>The restaurant was relatively quiet considering it was festival night, the conversation in the room remaining at the level of soft murmurs. As he let the curtain fall behind him, the noise from outside seemed to diminish somewhat, matching the tone of the rest of the restaurant. Its patrons looked up as he entered, then looked away. It was a reaction he had seen a lot of since returning to Soul Society, and one that he was already used to by now.<p>

The man sitting at the bar didn't react as he came over, taking the stool next to him. Isshin sighed, propping his head up in his hand as he glanced at the man next to him.

"Knew I'd find you here," he said.

The heir to the Ankoujin Clan raised his sake cup to his lips, not turning to look at him. Isshin waited for a few moments. Finally, the man sighed, setting his cup down.

"What are you doing here, Isshin?" he asked.

"Came to see you," said Isshin. "Is that not allowed now?"

"You've been restricted from entering the Manor."

"Well, we're not _at _the Manor, now are we?"

He sighed. From outside, the traces of two very familiar reiatsus wormed their way into the restaurant. Isshin frowned at the intensity of them. And here he had thought his daughter would stay out of trouble for the evening. The Ankoujin must have noticed it too, his fingers tensing slightly.

"Aren't you going to go deal with that?" asked Isshin.

"Masaryu must learn to fight his own battles," said the man, glancing at him. "I could say the same for you."

Isshin shrugged. "Karin won't learn anything if I stop her. She'll just hate me."

The man stared at him for a moment, looking him over. A look of surprise appeared on his face. "Well…" he finally said. "You've matured."

"Marriage does that to you," said Isshin, grinning. "Or wasn't that what you would tell me?" He raised his hand, and the bartender set down a cup of sake in front of him. Isshin raised it, taking a sip. "How _is _Reiko, by the way?"

"Reiko is well," he replied, taking a sip from his own cup. "She hasn't changed."

"But you have," commented Isshin.

The man sighed, setting down his cup and pushing some of his long brown hair out of his face. "And whose fault do you think that is?" he asked. "Because of you, I've had to take on a few more responsibilities. It's affected Masa too. He looked up to you, you know. He was crushed when you left."

"I know," said Isshin. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hurt a lot of people, didn't I?"

The man snorted, turning away.

"She must have been some woman," he said.

"Funny," said Isshin. "Kukaku said about the same thing." He took a long drink, draining his cup. "She was, by the way. You would have liked her."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean, what am I going to do?" asked Isshin. "I'm disowned, aren't I?"

The man sighed, setting down his cup. "You know it killed him to do that," he said. "He argued against it, but he had to do something in the end, after what happened with Kuchiki-san."

"I know," said Isshin. "I don't really care about that. You were always going to do a better job than I could."

"You don't know that.

"I do," said Isshin. He drained his second cup, setting it down and turning to the man. "Handle my tab for me, will you? I think it's time I go break up that fight."

The man rolled his eyes. "In some ways, you really haven't changed."

"And neither have you," said Isshin with a grin. He reached out, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "For what it's worth, Sei, I'm sorry. But I'd do it again."

"I know you would," said the man, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. He glanced at the door as another wave of reiatsu, this one more intense, slipped through. "Don't break him. I've only got one son."

"I'll do my best," said Isshin, removing his hand. "No promises though."

"For what it's worth," said the man as Isshin took a few steps away. Isshin paused, glancing back at him. "It's good to see you again…" He smiled slightly.

"…Isshi-nii."

Isshin grinned. "Great to see you too, Sei. Tell the old man I said 'hey'."

"I will."

Isshin walked away, slipping out into the streets.

Ankoujin Seishin listened as the curtain fell back into place, muting out the noise of the festival. He glanced at the cup next to him, a faint smile on his face.

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	20. A moment of clarity

**A/N: **This was originally supposed to end the festival arc, but it turned out a lot longer than I liked, so I split it into two chapters. Here's the first half that shows the battle and the revealing of the truth. The second half, which will be Chapter 21, will show the aftermath of the battle, and it'll have some reactions from all of the characters. You can expect Ichiruki and Hitsukarin in the next chapter, as well as more Serious!Isshin and a probable breakdown from Masa. Oh, and quality Kurosaki bonding time~

Once the festival arc is over, we're going to time skip forward into the fourth year of the Academy, and have some Ankoujin/Kurosaki drama that should take up a couple of chapters. And then fast forward into fifth year, and finally SIXTH YEAR AND SQUAD PICKING TIME!

And before you ask, I've already decided what squads I'm putting them all into, so…yeah.

Also, again, there will be **NO **Masaryu x Karin, or Masaryu x Yuzu in this story **ever. **Because in case the last chapter didn't make that clear, they are first cousins. And I know ancient Japan is okay with that, but Elle917 is NOT okay with writing that. XD

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

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><p><strong>Chapter 20: A moment of clarity<strong>

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><p>Karin stood at the top of Sokyoku Hill, her sword belted to her side. She had changed out of her soiled yukata, and was now dressed in a light blue gi and dark blue hakama, her black hair tied up in a ponytail. Toshiro stood at her side, a frown on his face.<p>

"Are you sure you need to do this?" he asked.

"I told you," said Karin. "If I don't fight him seriously, he's never going to back off. And I'm tired of this. I'll finish it now. Don't interfere. "

Toshiro's frown deepened, but he nodded once, taking a step back. "Don't get carried away," he said quietly.

"Aa," replied Karin, nodding her head. She watched as a figure stepped onto the hill in front of her. Masaryu had changed as well, and was now dressed similarly to her, in black hakama and a lighter gray gi. He stopped in front of her, staring at her.

"Ready?" she asked.

Masaryu nodded once, drawing his blade and holding it at the ready in front of him. Karin did the same, a scowl on her face. "One fight," she said. "And then you leave me alone."

"Agreed," said Masaryu. "No holding back."

Behind her, Toshiro sighed. "On my count," he said, reluctantly. "Three. Two. _One_."

The two of them charged forward, their blades flashing in the air as they bore down on one another. The two swords clashed, steel gliding against steel as the two of them pushed forward, their guards meeting. They sprang apart again, landing on the ground at exactly the same time and rushing towards each other. The two of them brought their swords down at the same time, reiatsu flaring up around them.

Below them, the lights from the summer festival continued to shine.

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><p>The thin net made of rice paper ripped as Yuzu quickly jerked it out of the water, setting the goldfish free. She looked up, her eyes suddenly fixing on Sokyoku Hill.<p>

For a moment…no, it had to have been her imagination, but for a moment, she thought she had felt…

"Yuzu-chan?" asked Kohaku from beside her. "Yuzu, what's wrong?"

_Thump. _

_Tha-thump. _

There it was again. Another wave of reiatsu. Yuzu felt it wash over her, her own reiatsu responding in sync with her heartbeat. She _knew _this reiatsu. Knew it as well as she knew her own.

"Karin…chan…?" she murmured quietly.

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><p>The wave of reiatsu washed through the small restaurant that the group was standing in, mingling with the reiatsus of the shinigami inside it. Ichigo's eyes widened as he sensed it, and he immediately looked up, turning his head towards the door and lowering his cup suddenly. Sake sloshed over the side of the cup, landing on the ground.<p>

"Ichigo!" yelled Renji from across from him. "Oi, hey, Ichigo! What the hell? We were having a toast here!"

Beside him, Rukia frowned, lowering her own cup and turning her head towards the door as well. The circle of shinigami fell silent, watching them.

"…Kurosaki-taicho?" asked Hinamori from beside Kira, a concerned frown on her face.

"Ichigo, dammit, quit ignoring—!"

Ichigo raised a hand, quieting Renji. "Shh," he said, concentrating as he felt it again. From somewhere in the circle, Matsumoto let out a heavy sigh, having apparently noticed it as well.

Rukia looked up at him. "That was…" she began.

"Aa," said Ichigo, nodding his head.

"Karin."

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><p>Toshiro stood to the side, watching the battle in front of him, his fist clenched at his side. He didn't know how it had ended up this way. He had allowed the fight to continue because he knew that Karin was right. This was a battle that needed to be fought, and better sooner or later. But it had gone on long enough.<p>

Karin stood in front of Masaryu, breathing hard. She held her sword in both hands, the blade pointed down at the ground as she looked up at her opponent. Blood dripped down from a cut at her side, trickling onto the ground. Masaryu was bleeding from a cut along his arm. He was breathing hard as well, his own blade in his hands. Both swords were chipped at this point from the intensity of their battle, their reiatsus continuing to fizzle and spark in the air around them.

"Alright," said Toshiro, looking up. "This fight is over. Sheathe your swords."

Karin shook her head. "No," she said. "It's not over."

His eyes narrowed. "Karin—," he began.

"It's _not_ over, Toshiro!"shouted Karin, cutting him off. She straightened up, breathing heavily as she glared at Masaryu. He straightened up as well, holding his sword in both hands. "Look at him," she said. "He's just getting started."

"If you both continue to fight like this, all you'll manage to do is break your swords."

"Fine by me," said Karin. She shifted her sword to her right hand, dropping the chipped blade onto the ground. Masaryu did the same, a scowl on his face. Both blades fell to the ground. Their reiatsus flared up around them, waves of spiritual pressure radiating out from the two of them. Toshiro's eyes widened slightly. He had felt reiatsu like this before, but not from Karin. The last time he had felt reiatsu like this…

…Kurosaki Ichigo.

Karin could feel it coursing through her, burning in her blood. She had felt it multiple times before, but never this intensely. Somehow, she knew what she had to do, her body moving before her mind could even keep up.

The two of them looked up, both their eyes glowing blue. With a shout, they charged forward at the same time, their hands loosely clenched around an invisible hilt. Reiatsu flooded the space between their fingers as they charged towards one another. Karin brought her hands down, Masaryu bringing his up. The reiatsu around them arched, following the movement. There was a bright flash.

The sound of steel hitting steel rang out through the area.

The reiatsu auras died down, revealing the two of them. Karin stood with a sword in her hands, her eyes narrowed dangerously. The blade's hilt was black, with red leather woven around it and a deep red tassel hanging from the hilt. Masaryu also held a blade in his hands, and was breathing heavily. The metal of his sword gleamed in the dim light of the area, shining a pale silvery blue. An ornate silver design ran along the outside of the sword's guard, its hilt a combination of metallic silver and white.

Kurosaki Isshin stood between them, his own zanpakuto in his hands. Engetsu's blade hung in the air between the other two swords, keeping them apart. He stood with his back to Karin, facing Masaryu.

Ichigo stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders, pulling her back and keeping away from the fight. Beside him stood Rukia, a solemn frown on her face. Silence fell over the scene.

"Karin-chan!" called a sudden voice.

Karin glanced towards it, eyes wide. Yuzu was running frantically up the side of the hill, her friend Iwase Kohaku following along behind her. Yuzu reached the top of the hill, placing both her hands on her knees and breathing heavily. She looked away, turning towards the man in front of her.

"Dad…" she said.

She had never seen Isshin like this.

Isshin said nothing, his expression uncharacteristically serious as he withdrew Engetsu, sheathing the blade. "Now, now," he said. "Is this any way to spend the summer festival?"

Masaryu's eyes narrowed and he jumped back, raising his zanpakuto into the air and bringing it down. Isshin raised Engetsu to meet it, effortlessly blocking Masaryu's attack. Masaryu jumped back, rushing forward and attacking again, making three strikes in quick succession. Isshin said nothing, blocking each strike with his sword. He sidestepped a downward strike, using the flat of his blade to push Masaryu's sword down.

"Masa, listen to me," said Isshin. "Put down the sword."

"Shut up!" yelled Masaryu, his expression contorting in anger. He slid his sword out from underneath Engetsu, slashing at Isshin multiple times. Isshin stepped back, sidestepping each swing. "You're a stupid excuse for an uncle! I don't have anything to say to you anymore! I—!"

Isshin's hand shot out, grabbing Masaryu's wrist and stopping him mid-slash. Masaryu's hand trembled, the sword in his hand gleaming in the light. Isshin glanced at it.

"…That's a beautiful zanpakuto you have, Masa-kun," he said, meeting Masaryu's eyes. "Can you feel it? She's crying, because of the way you're treating her."

Masaryu's hand shook. He took a deep breath and dropped to his knees, tears trickling down the side of his face. Isshin released his hand and he lowered it to the ground, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Isshin stared down at him, then looked up across from him at Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu.

Karin stared, stunned, as Toshiro walked over to her. "Wh-what?" she asked. She felt Ichigo's hands loosen on her shoulders, and she didn't need to turn around to know that he was looking at them with the same expression on his face.

"Uncle?" Yuzu repeated.

"Yeah…" said Isshin. "I should have said something sooner, shouldn't I? But I didn't think it would end up like this. Kurosaki is a name I adopted when I quit being a shinigami. It's not the name I was born with."

"The name you were born with…" repeated Ichigo. His hands around Karin's shoulders tensed again.

"Aa," said Isshin. He stared down at Masaryu. "When Masaki asked me for my name, it was the first thing I could think of. But before then, I was…"

"…Ankoujin Isshin," said Masaryu bitterly from the ground. "Son of Ankoujin Ryushin, heir to the Ankoujin Clan, former captain of the Tenth Division." He looked up, his eyes fixing on Toshiro for a moment before he turned towards them. "Also, my father's brother. My uncle…such as he is. A traitor, and a liar, a fraud, and my clan's biggest disgrace." Masaryu looked up at Isshin, accusation in his tone. "Your own family never knew who you were."

"I won't deny it, because it's true, except for the last part," said Isshin, sheathing his sword. "I want the three of you to understand. I was never truer to myself than I was when I was with your mother, and when I was with you. Ankoujin Isshin was a name of mine I gave up. But you three have always known who I am."

Karin stared at the scene unfolding in front of her. She couldn't believe it. The world around her seemed muted, almost, the blood rushing through her ears as she stared down at Masaryu.

Masaryu…Ankoujin Masaryu, her hated rival, the guy who had been making her school life hell, was her…_cousin_?

And her father was the Ankoujin Clan's former _heir_?

She knew that he had to have had some sort of past life in Soul Society that he hadn't told them about, but she hadn't imagined this.

She couldn't speak. She wasn't sure her voice would work if she tried. Her hand closed tightly around the hilt of her sword—her _zanpakuto_, she realized vaguely—as she watched them.

Surprisingly, it was Yuzu who spoke first.

"…That…" she began, then shook her head, one hand closed around the fabric of her yukata as she took a step forward. "Ankoujin-kun…is that why you were so determined to beat us?"

Masaryu sat back on his heels, saying nothing for a moment.

"I have to…" he finally said, his voice quiet. "I can't allow you to surpass me. Do you think the Clan doesn't know who you are? First Kurosaki Ichigo…and now the two of you…I will become the head of the Ankoujin Clan someday. Uncontested."

"Che…" said Ichigo. "If that's what you're worried about, you can stop. I'm not interested in ever challenging you."

"…Ichigo…" said Rukia quietly from beside him.

Masaryu shook his head, cutting her off. "I know that," he said, his eyes shadowed by his hair. "Even if you wanted to, your claim would not be legitimate. But it doesn't matter. The elders _see _you. They know that you are of our blood. I have been alive for longer than you. I have trained for longer. If I do not surpass you, they will not accept me. They will give me their loyalty, but not their respect. I will never escape being compared to you."

He chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "If I can't even beat Kurosaki Karin, I'm not worthy of being the Ankoujin heir."

"Ankoujin-kun…" began Yuzu.

Isshin raised a hand, stopping her. She fell silent, lowering her eyes.

"Ichigo…" said Isshin.

"Yeah?" asked Ichigo, looking up.

"Gomen. I know the three of you have a lot you want to ask me. But right now, I need to talk to Masa-kun alone. Take your sisters and go. I'll meet you at the spot we picked out for the fireworks display."

Ichigo fell silent for a moment, as if considering the situation. "…Aa," he finally said, nodding in agreement. He released his hold on Karin, lowering his hands. "Come on, Yuzu. Karin."

Karin shook her head, staring down at the ground. Her hands were shaking. Through a curtain of black hair, she saw Toshiro look up at her, a concerned frown on his face. That wasn't what she wanted to see right now.

"Sorry," she said. "I need to be alone."

Before anyone could stop her, she turned, walking past them and down the path that led to Seireitei, her zanpakuto hanging loosely from one hand.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	21. Resolved identity

**A/N: **I liked writing the atmosphere for the Tenth Division in this chapter. You know how it is when there's some sort of outdoor event or celebration and you go inside for a little bit and it suddenly seems restful and peaceful? That's what I was going for here. XD

Happy Valentine's Day, all! Hope you liked this chapter! Read and review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: Resolved identity<strong>

* * *

><p>The night air was cool, fanning across her heated skin. She hissed in pain as she walked, one hand closed around the cut at her side as the other held onto her newly-formed zanpakuto. The streets of this part of Seireitei were practically deserted. With the festival still going on in full swing, the only people in the division barracks or the residential areas would be those that had stayed in by choice, and she easily avoided the few people that she came across.<p>

She knew, in the back of her mind, that she had to stop and tend to her wound, but at the moment, all she wanted to do was walk until she calmed down.

Dammit. This night wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

A cold breeze drifted across the back of her neck, much colder than the wind she had been feeling earlier. A sharp, icy reiatsu accompanied it, and her skin tingled briefly from the sudden change in spiritual pressure before it was withdrawn.

Karin clenched her fists, not turning around.

"Don't you understand what _alone_ means, Toshiro?" she asked.

"You're injured," said Toshiro from behind her. He stepped forward, standing beside her. "I wasn't just going to leave you like that. Come on."

He didn't take her hand and didn't attempt to lead her. Instead, he just walked forward, down the road like he simply expected her to follow on her own. But she did, folding her arms and grumbling under her breath about bossy, meddling captains who didn't know how to leave a situation alone.

Toshiro led her down a familiar path, stopping in front of the gates of the Tenth Division. He opened them with a palm on the door and a whispered word, the Tenth Division's daffodil flaring to life in blue light on the front of the gates before they swung open, the flower fading away. The division's symbol loomed overhead, testament to the difference in rank and strength between them.

_So far…_she thought as she stepped inside, the division gates closing behind her.

Toshiro walked forward, leading her down the familiar path towards his office. Soft sounds drifted through the halls as they walked—laughter, footsteps, snatches of conversation, admonitions being given to people who must have drunk too much. He opened his office door, and she stepped inside, watching as he walked over to the couch.

"Sit down."

She sat. He sat beside her on her injured side, cupping his hands together. Cool reiatsu flooded the spaces between his fingers, and Karin sucked in a breath as it touched the wound. She exhaled slowly as she felt the pain begin to fade, holding the hilt of her sword in both hands and staring down at it. The blade gleamed in the light from Toshiro's reiatsu. Earlier it had felt hot in her hands, as if she had grabbed it straight out of the fire. Now, it was cool, looking almost like an ordinary sword.

But she knew it wasn't ordinary. She could feel it as she held it. It was a part of her, and she was a part of it.

Was this how it felt to wield a zanpakuto?

From beside her, Toshiro sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

She almost jumped. His voice was closer to her ear than she thought it would be, and after the earlier silence, it was shocking. But she held still, a small scowl appearing on her face as she turned the sword over in her hands.

"What's there to talk about?" she asked.

"I'd say there's a lot, but that's up to you."

Karin shrugged. "I knew the old man had to have some sort of secret," she said. "I _knew it_."

"But…?" prompted Toshiro.

"That's not the kind of secret I expected," she said. "Whatever. I'll get over it."

Toshiro fell silent for a moment, and all Karin felt was the cold touch of reiatsu at her side.

"…When I became captain," he said, finally. "They told me my predecessor had gone missing. I wasn't given many of the details. I didn't think to ask. But I…suspected."

"And you didn't tell me?" asked Karin. She hated the way her voice trembled there.

"It was only a hunch," said Toshiro. "We knew he used to be a captain."

He fell silent, slowly drawing his hands away. The reiatsu went with it, the blue light dimming before disappearing completely. Toshiro sank down on the couch next to her, staring at the sword in her hands.

"You're lucky," he said, causing her to look up in confusion. "It's shaped like an ordinary katana," he said in explanation. "Your old sheath should work just fine. When Hyorinmaru manifested, I had to have one custom made."

"Ah…yeah," said Karin, turning the blade over. She reached for the sheath at her side, only now remembering that it was there. Karin gripped it with her left hand, sliding the flat of the sword over the opening and sliding it in. Like this, it looked like a slightly more decorated version of her practice sword. She slid the sheath back into her sword belt, staring at her hands. Silence fell over the two of them.

Karin sighed, leaning back against the couch. "Sorry…" she said.

"For what?" asked Toshiro.

"For how the night turned out," she said. "Can't have been much fun for you."

Toshiro sighed. "It's fine," he said. "Honestly…I half-expected it."

She let out a small laugh. "We're hopeless, aren't we?" she asked.

"We'll get it right eventually."

Karin turned towards him. He looked at her, his green eyes meeting hers for a moment.

"Aa…" she said.

* * *

><p>Masaryu listened as the three Kurosakis and their entourage left, the blood still pounding in his ears. He stared down at the sword on the ground, the steel blade seeming to gleam in the moonlight. Isshin was right. Damn him, but he was right. He could <em>feel <em>the blade straining against him, keeping itself pressed to the ground in an attempt to stop him from fighting. It was more a feeling than an actual physical effect. He could pick up the sword if he wanted to.

But he knew that _it _didn't want to.

_She…_

His hand shook around the silvery hilt.

And then they were alone.

Masaryu slowly rose, taking his zanpakuto with him. He slid it into his sheath in one smooth motion, feeling the sword's resistance fade away once it was clear that he was no longer willing to fight. He rested one hand on the hilt. He didn't understand it. It had resonated with his will to fight when he had been fighting Karin, but against Isshin…

He looked up at the man in front of him, then turned away, taking a step towards the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going, Masa-kun?" asked Isshin.

"Home," said Masaryu. "I told you. I have nothing to say to you."

"Then listen," said Isshin. "I know you don't understand—."

Masaryu ran a hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh and tilting his head back. "What is there to understand?" he asked, angrily. "You betrayed our family."

"I loved her—."

"More than_ us?" _shouted Masaryu, turning around to face him. "More than Ojii-sama? More than Otou-sama? More than _me_? Do you know what it was like waiting for you and waiting for you, and then getting told that you were never coming back?" He had moved forward without realizing it, and was now standing in front of Isshin, wide-eyed. He had no defense against it, this sudden loss of control. He felt as though he had been standing at the breaking point for so long, and now finally everything was coming through.

"…I looked up to you…" he said, quietly, lowering his eyes. "I wanted to be like you. You were like a father to me, Isshin-jisama…"

Isshin blinked, staring down at Masaryu for a moment. A small grin spread over his face. "Well…" he said. "Looks like you had a lot to say to me after all."

Masaryu looked up at Isshin, a confused look on his face for a moment. Then, his eyes narrowed and he scowled.

"Baka!" he said. "I was being serious!"

"I know," said Isshin, the smile fading. "So was I. I'll tell you the same thing I told Sei. I'm not going to apologize for what I did. I'd do it again. I don't know if I'd have stopped, if Masaki hadn't died. But I'll apologize for what it did to you."

"What good does that do?" asked Masaryu. "You just admitted that nothing would have changed if she were still alive."

"I'm _asking_ you to give me a chance to start over," said Isshin. "And give your cousins a chance. They're family. _You're _family. Or you were once. Maybe you'd like to be that way again." He smiled, extending his hand out towards Masaryu. Masaryu scowled, staring down at it. "What do you say, Masa-kun?"

Masaryu stared at Isshin's hand for a few long moments. Then, he sighed, his shoulders slumping in resignation. "Kurosaki Karin is brash, rude, and completely mannerless."

"In other words, just like you," said Isshin, grinning.

Masaryu rolled his eyes. "I've learned," he said. "I don't like her."

"I can assure you, the feeling is mutual."

"I'm not sure how I feel about Kurosaki Ichigo."

"You could get to know him."

"_However_…" said Masaryu. "…I can tolerate Kurosaki Yuzu. Although she infuriates me."

"How come?"

"_Kidou_." Masaryu growled out the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Isshin laughed. "The family weakness, right? She has a touch of her mother. And you aren't exactly perfect either, kiddo."

"I'm aware," said Masaryu, his eyes narrowing. "Who the hell do you think I am? Kuchiki Byakuya?"

"Ha!" Isshin barked out a laugh, reaching forward and ruffling Masaryu's hair. "_There's _my Masa!"

"Tch, cut it out!" said Masaryu, ducking to the side and pulling out of Isshin's hold. He took a deep breath, then nodded, holding out his hand.

"I will try," he said. "This doesn't mean I forgive you. But I'll give you a chance."

Isshin nodded, taking Masaryu's hand with a grin.

"It's a start," he said.

* * *

><p>"Yuzu, you go on ahead," said Ichigo, stopping. "Show Rukia and Iwase where we're meeting up."<p>

Yuzu frowned, staring up at him. They were at the bottom of the hill now, and were making their way through the quieter streets of Seireitei towards the field that the four of them had picked out earlier.

"You're not coming with us, Ichi-nii?" she asked, a worried frown on her face.

"I'll be there in a minute," said Ichigo. "I forgot something at the Fifth."

Yuzu frowned, biting her lip as she considered it. She nodded once. "Alright…" she said. "Don't take too long…"

"I won't," said Ichigo, giving her a small, reassuring grin. Yuzu turned away.

"Kohaku-chan, Rukia-nee, it's this way," she said.

Kohaku hesitated for a moment, but followed her. Rukia paused. As Ichigo watched, the small vice-captain shook her head. "Go on ahead," she said. "I'll walk with Ichigo."

"Rukia—," began Ichigo.

A glare from her cut him off. Ichigo rolled his eyes, placing his hand on the back of his neck as he looked away. That was definitely an expression she had pulled out of Byakuya's book.

"Ah—hai," said Yuzu. "I'll see you both in a minute."

"Sure," said Ichigo. "See you."

He watched as Yuzu led her friend down the street, then turned and walked away. Rukia followed him, falling in step behind him easily. The two of them walked off the main thoroughfare, entering one of the lesser-used side roads. It was empty at this time, with everyone still enjoying the festivities.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" asked Rukia.

"Nothing," said Ichigo.

"It's obviously _not _nothing," she said. "Come on. Talk to me."

He stopped. Why couldn't she just leave it alone? "Dammit, Rukia, it's not a big deal!" he said.

"Don't give me that!" said Rukia, shouting back. "It's a big deal if I say it is! Stop being stubborn and just _tell me_!"

Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair. She won. Of course, she won. He knew she wasn't going to stop asking him until he told her. "Look," he said. "It's not a big deal. I should be used to this by now. But in the past…what, not even ten years, I've been human, substitute shinigami, ryoka, Hollow, Vizored, half-shinigami, _captain_, and now this. So can you blame me for not knowing who the hell I'm supposed to be anymore?"

He exhaled slowly after his outburst. He didn't mean to go off like that, but he had needed to vent. Behind him, Rukia sighed.

"Idiot…" she said.

Her hand closed around his wrist, turning him forcibly to face her.

"…I _know _who you are."

The hand around his wrist tightened almost painfully as Rukia stared up at him.

"You're Ichigo…" she said, her voice soft. "You've always been the same to me."

"Rukia…" he began. She looked up at him, and the words died in his throat.

Ichigo stared down at her. Her violet eyes shone in the warm light of the lanterns. She looked up at him, her expression resolute and her chin tilted up slightly as if she was challenging him to argue with her. Her hand loosened around his wrist, falling away. He caught it slowly, almost as an afterthought. She said nothing, not coming closer, not pulling away, just standing in front of him, her hand in his.

Her hand was rougher than he expected. It was not a delicate noblewoman's hand. It was the hand of someone who had lived a hard life in the past, the hand of a someone who fought with honor and pride for the people that she cared about. But there was beauty in it, just as there was beauty in her. It was a combination of grace and toughness, strength and kindness, something that was unequivocally Rukia, and looking down at her, the weight of everything they had faced together these past five…six…seven years seemed to crash down on him at once.

It had been a hard few years. A lot in his life had changed, some of it overnight.

But _she_ was a constant. _She _had always been there.

Would always be there, if he had anything to say about it.

How hadn't he seen it before? Renji was right…he really was oblivious.

His hand tightened around hers, her fingers curling inward and returning his hold. Her slender fingers intertwined with his, pulling him closer. He obliged, bracing one hand on the wall behind her and slowly leaning down. She tilted her head up, her eyes drifting closed.

His last thought, as their lips met, was that Byakuya was _definitely _going to kill him for this.

But as her free arm went up, wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer, he decided that he really didn't care.

* * *

><p>The place they had chosen was a small patch of grass, bordered by trees. It was secluded enough to give them some privacy, but close enough to the main event that they could see the fireworks, and head back at any time. Yuzu sighed from her seat on the blanket they had spread out, watching as fireflies drifted towards them and away from them. Kohaku sat cross-legged beside her.<p>

"You alright?" asked Kohaku.

"I'm…fine," said Yuzu, quietly. How _did _she feel? She wasn't sure at this point. She was surprised, yes, and she was slightly angry, but more than that, she was upset at how it had affected everyone else. This night wasn't supposed to end like this…

"…I'm just worried for everyone."

"You aren't freaked out?" asked Kohaku. "You're related to nobility!"

"I wish he would have told me…" said Yuzu. "And I'm a little shocked. But it doesn't really matter…I guess."

Kohaku stared at her incredulously for a moment, before sighing and leaning back on her arms. "Sometimes…" she said. "I wish I had your life."

"Kohaku-chan…" began Yuzu.

Kohaku shook her head. "Never mind," she said. "Forget it. Different beginnings, going to the same place, remember? Anyway, it explains why everyone in your family has a crap-ton of reiryoku."

Yuzu frowned, looking away. Kohaku sighed and rolled back into a sitting position, staring at her. "Hey, don't go getting all depressed," she said. "The night's not over yet!"

"I know…" said Yuzu. "But…"

"Look, here comes your brother now," said Kohaku.

Yuzu looked up, turning in the direction she pointed at. Ichigo and Rukia were heading over to them, walking from the city. Their faces were slightly flushed, and neither of them was looking at the other.

The two were holding hands.

Yuzu smiled softly to herself as her brother sat down, Rukia sitting beside him. Ichigo met her eyes, his brows rising as if daring her to comment on it. She shook her head slightly, turning away and exchanging a quick glance with Kohaku.

"Karin not here yet?" asked Ichigo.

Yuzu shook her head. Ichigo's brow furrowed, but he said nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rukia's hand tighten around his for a moment. Yuzu fought down the urge to giggle, looking away and drawing her knees up close to her chest.

"Oi, who's not here yet?" asked a familiar voice from behind her.

Yuzu and the others looked up, watching as Karin walked over to them. She was still dressed in her bloodied clothes from the battle, but her side had been healed. Behind her walked Toshiro, a frown on his face as the two of them sat down on the blanket.

"Karin-chan—," she began.

"About time," said Ichigo, cutting her off.

"You're one to talk," said Karin, rolling her eyes.

Yuzu smiled, looking up at the sky. It wouldn't be long now. The fireworks were about to begin.

"Mind if we join you?" asked another voice.

She looked up. Isshin stood over them, a grin on his face. Behind him stood Masaryu, staring pointedly at the corner of the blanket with his usual frown. He looked like he was doing his best to appear composed, but was uncomfortable in spite of himself.

They fell silent for a moment.

"…Doesn't matter to me," said Ichigo at last, moving aside to give them more room.

"Tch," said Karin, shifting to the right.

Yuzu smiled, moving aside to make room as well. Isshin patted Masaryu once on the back, taking his own seat. Masaryu frowned, then slowly sat down as well, draping his arm over his knee.

"Sorry it's so crowded, Ankoujin-kun," said Yuzu as he sat. "We didn't expect so many people."

"It's fine…" said Masaryu quietly. "It was short notice."

"Just don't bump into me," said Karin, rolling her eyes from behind Masaryu.

The fireworks exploded overhead, showering the night sky in a rain of colors. The eight of them looked up, watching the display.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	22. Swordsmanship and spirit

**A/N: **We're getting ready for a demonstration at my martial arts club, so we've been going over sword katas. That's the inspiration for a certain scene in this chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22: Swordsmanship and spirit<strong>

* * *

><p>A young Academy student landed on the ground ran across the training fields at full speed, breathing heavily. In one hand, she held on tightly to a red sash. It unfurled, fluttering in the air behind her. She glanced behind her, her eyes wide as she put on a burst of speed and placed one foot in front of her, focusing her reiatsu.<p>

Masaryu appeared in the air behind her, grabbing tightly to the sash and pulling it from her as he flash stepped away. She let out a shriek, spinning around once before falling onto the ground. The Ankoujin heir reappeared a few feet away from her, landing on the ground once before disappearing again. Shouts from the Class 2 students in the area echoed in his wake.

"Ankoujin!"

"Ankoujin has it!"

"Get Ankoujin!"

Masaryu reappeared in the air, suddenly finding himself flanked by three Class 2 students. His eyes narrowed and he flash stepped to the side, barely breaking out of their hold for a moment before they started swarming around him again. He jumped, going into another flash step and reappearing a few feet in the air. They followed quickly, a few of them muttering curses at his quick escape.

He turned, ducking and weaving around the training field as his eyes darted from left to right, looking for possible openings.

A dark-haired female Academy student materialized in the air to his right, keeping pace with him.

"Masa, pass it here!"

"Tch."

He didn't take the time to look at her, instead tossing the sash in her direction. Kurosaki Karin caught it in her outstretched hand, pulling it close to herself and flash stepping away. Karin glanced back just in time to see Masaryu land on the ground and stand still, his pursuers quickly changing direction and coming after her.

_Catch me if you can…_she thought to herself, a grin appearing on her face as she put on another burst of speed, the wind whipping around her as she flash stepped a few feet ahead.

Her eyes widened as Yuzu materialized in the air in front of her. Karin quickly swerved, pulling the sash close to herself and turning her back on her pursuer as she moved in another direction. Yuzu turned as well, appearing in the air just a beat behind Karin. Karin scowled, flash stepping to the right, but Yuzu followed, her eyes narrowed as she appeared just over her sister's shoulder. The twins disappeared three more times, appearing in much the same position each time.

"Dammit, Yuzu, get off my back!" yelled Karin as they appeared in the sky, plummeting towards the ground. The two of them disappeared again, landing on the ground and breaking out into a run, Yuzu sticking close behind Karin and blocking her every time she turned away. Karin jumped into the air again, Yuzu following her.

"Gotcha!" said a voice from below Karin as she reappeared.

Her eyes widened and she looked down, just in time to see Iwase Kohaku grinning at her. Kohaku's hand tightened around the sash and she disappeared, pulling it away from Karin.

A whistle sounded out through the field, and many of the students stopped in place, turning towards its source. The hakuda teacher, Senda Sayuri, and the zanjutsu teacher, Furutani Katsuo, stood at the edge of the training field. Senda-sensei blew the whistle as Furutani-sensei looked on, a frown on his face. His frown faded into a grin as his eyes landed on Kohaku.

"Yatta!" exclaimed Kohaku in triumph, thrusting the sash into the air. Yuzu appeared beside her, a tired grin on her face, just in time to accept her friend's high-five. "We did it!"

"Great job, Kohaku-chan!" said Yuzu, giving Kohaku a quick hug.

"Alright!" said Furutani-sensei. "Iwase has the sash. That's a win for class 2, isn't it, Senda?"

"Lucky shot," said Senda, rolling her eyes. Since Onabara-sensei wasn't involved in a lot of the physical aspects of their training, she had taken over as shunpo instructor for Class 1.

"Lucky or not, our bet still stands," said Furutani.

Karin appeared behind Yuzu, Masaryu a step behind her. The elder Kurosaki twin had a scowl on her face. She stepped forward, jabbing her finger at Yuzu's shoulder. "_That_," she said. "…was _not _fair."

Yuzu gave Karin an apologetic smile as Kohaku leaned forward, sticking her tongue out. "There's no such thing as fair in shunpo tag, Karin-san."

Senda blew her whistle before Karin could reply, causing the four of them to look up. "Alright," she said. "Go get cleaned up. We'll wrap up tomorrow. I'm going to need to talk to some of you about your shunpo, but for the most part, you're all doing pretty good. I'm not naming any names, but some of you have Second Division and Onmitsukido looking at you, so you need to step up your game!"

Behind her, Furutani shook his head, moving his hand back and forth over his throat quickly. _No, _he mouthed. _No, you don't. _

The combined classes laughed. Senda's eyes narrowed and she glanced behind her, but Furutani-sensei was standing straight, a practiced look of disinterest on his face. She rolled her eyes.

"Well what does he know?" she asked. "He was in Eleventh. Get moving."

* * *

><p>The women's locker rooms in the zanjutsu training hall were louder than most as the fourth-year Class 1 and Class 2 girls chattered on about the shunpo tag match. Karin scowled, pushing the locker door shut with one hand as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Iwase Kohaku had wrapped the sash around her neck like a scarf, a grin on her face.<p>

"_Squads are looking at us already?" _asked one of the girls, talking in hushed voices. _"It's only fourth year." _

"_Well, it's kind of expected, since we're the top classes. Most of us are going to go in straight as seated officers, you know." _

"Well, I wouldn't be too surprised if Senda-sensei was talking about me," said Kohaku with a teasing grin towards Karin, stretching. Karin rolled her eyes.

"It's not a big deal," said Karin as she left the locker room and entered the hallway. "It's just shunpo tag. If it had been soccer, it would have been different."

"What's soccer?" asked Kohaku, frowning as she followed.

"It's a game I used to play in the living world," said Karin. "Want me to show it to you?"

"Sure," said Kohaku, nodding. "Sounds like fun."

"Alright," said Karin. She frowned, looking around the hallway. Her eyes landed on one of the boys exiting the men's locker room. "Oi, Masa! You in?"

The noble in question raised an eyebrow, turning towards her.

"Soccer," said Karin. "I'm gonna teach Kohaku. Wanna come?"

"What's soccer?" asked Masaryu, echoing Kohaku's earlier question.

"It's a game I can kick your butt at," replied Karin.

"I don't think a game like that exists."

Karin scowled. "Quit being a smartass. Are you coming, or what?"

Masaryu shrugged in reply. "Sure," he said, walking over to her. "I have nothing better to do."

"Great…now we just need a couple more people," said Karin, frowning.

"What about Hitsugaya-taicho?" asked Kohaku.

Karin rolled her eyes. "Got sent on another one of those living world missions," she said. "He's not going to be back for at least another couple days." She looked around, her eyes landing on a blond Academy student slinking out of the locker room. "Hey, Yuzu!"

Yuzu looked up, turning towards her. "Karin-chan?" she asked.

"We're gonna head out and play some soccer. Wanna come?"

Yuzu blinked, then gave Karin a sheepish grin. "Ah, gomen," she said. "I've got stuff to do. But I'll see you later. Have fun!"

The younger Kurosaki twin raised her hand, waving goodbye at Karin and the others before disappearing off into the crowd. Karin frowned, placing her hands behind her head as she watched her sister.

"What the hell was that about?" she asked.

* * *

><p>"I've started seeing flashes of images during <em>jinzen, <em>although I haven't heard a voice yet," said Yuzu, cradling the cup of water that had been brought out to her in her hands. She took a slow sip, watching idly as a pair of birds flitted around each other in the grass in front of her.

"It will come at the appropriate time."

Byakuya sat on the ground a few feet away from her. He was dressed in his shinigami robes, although the black kosode and white captain's haori lay folded on the ground behind him, the priceless heirloom scarf folded carefully on top of them. Even in his shitagi and hakama, the sixth squad captain radiated an aura of calm composure that was impossible to emulate. She didn't try.

"Mm," said Yuzu, smiling slightly and nodding. "That's what everyone's been telling me. But…I got to thinking…"

"Hmm…?"

"Is it possible for a zanpakuto spirit to be mute?" asked Yuzu, turning towards him.

Byakuya frowned, considering the question for a moment. "Certainly, it is not impossible," he said. "A zanpakuto is born from an individual's soul. Every case is unique. I would not be surprised if that was true. However…"

"Hai?" prompted Yuzu.

"…In order to achieve shikai, one must enter their zanpakuto's inner world and obtain its name. If your spirit truly cannot speak, that may pose problems in the future. I would suggest that you pay close attention to the images you see. They may be your zanpakuto's attempt at communicating with you."

"I see…" said Yuzu, nodding once. "I'll keep that in mind, Kuchiki-dono."

"Do so," said Byakuya simply.

Yuzu frowned, watching him. The question was on the tip of her tongue, but she wasn't sure whether or not it was a personal question. Would he take offense?

She glanced at him again and took a deep breath, deciding to try anyway.

"Ano…you said all zanpakuto spirits are unique. Out of curiosity…what is Senbonzakura like?"

Byakuya's frown deepened slightly and Yuzu tensed.

"You don't have to answer the question," she said, quickly. "I was just wondering."

"Iie," said Byakuya, raising a hand dismissively. "I was simply deciding how best to answer your question. Senbonzakura appears as a masked samurai. He is honorable, though occasionally impatient."

Yuzu giggled, turning away and raising her wrist to her mouth to mask the sound. Byakuya frowned at her.

"…Something amuses you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing, it's just…a samurai. It suits you."

"Hn. Sou ka."

Byakuya rose to his feet, picking Senbonzakura up with his left hand. In his right, he held Yuzu's practice blade. He walked up to her, nudging her knee with the blade's sheath. Yuzu complied, putting the cup away and standing up. Byakuya held the practice sword out to her and she took it, sliding it into her sword belt. He did the same with Senbonzakura, coming to stand in front of her.

"Since you seem particularly fixated on the subject, I will attempt to illustrate a point," he said. "Perform the seventh kata on my count. I will coach."

Yuzu nodded, watching him.

"_Rei_," said Byakuya.

The two of them bowed to each other, Yuzu's bow much deeper than Byakuya's. She straightened up, placing her hands on her sword and taking a slow breath.

"One," counted Byakuya. At his count, the two of them drew their swords, holding them in front of each other with the blades turned to the side slightly so that they met.

"Two." She lowered her sword, giving him an opening. "Three." He took a step forward, striking down. She stepped to the side and turned her blade, catching his with the flat. Byakuya nodded once. "Four." He took a step back as Yuzu stepped forward, thrusting the blade at his throat.

The kata continued, both of them going through the series of practiced motions. At eighteen, the both of them slid their swords back into their sheaths, going into another bow. Byakuya stared at her for a moment, looking her over.

"Draw," he said.

She obeyed, drawing her sword and holding it at the ready. He looked over her posture, nodding once in approval.

"Take note of your state of mind," he said. "Zanjutsu—_proper _zanjutsu—is as much a mental test as it is a test of physical skill. Sword work is not so much about force as it is about control. At the moment, you have control. You are neither moving about frenetically or too relaxed to react in time. You are calm. And if I were to attack you in this state…"

He drew his sword from its sheath, swinging it down over his head in a basic strike. Yuzu moved, raising her sword in a guard and meeting his.

"…you would be prepared for action." He took a step back. "Good. Sheathe."

Yuzu nodded, sheathing her sword. Byakuya did the same.

"Now," said Byakuya. "Put your sword on the ground, but maintain that calm."

She nodded once, drawing her sword out from its belt and placing it on the ground.

"Do not think of this as hakuda. Think of it as simply another form of sword work. Keep the same state of mind. Keep your center, focus, and do not panic if you fail to execute a technique. Keep your movements smooth, blending one into the other, and keep your eye on your opponent. Do you understand?"

"Hai," she said.

"Good," said Byakuya. "Then let us continue. We'll begin with the control I showed you earlier. I will demonstrate it again. Strike to the side of the head."

Yuzu stepped forward, raising her right hand.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, Kuchiki-dono."<p>

The pair were interrupted about half an hour later by Maki's arrival. Byakuya finished the technique, cutting down with his hand and sending her tumbling to the ground. Yuzu picked herself up, breathing hard as she brushed the blades of grass off her Academy uniform.

Maki wasn't alone. A man stood next to him, dressed in dark gray clothes. Like Maki, he had a seal on his uniform that said he served one of the noble houses, but it wasn't a seal Yuzu recognized immediately. Byakuya, though, tensed, turning towards the servant.

"What is it, Maki?" he asked.

"Pardon the interruption, my lord," said Maki. "This man bears a message for Yuzu-san."

Yuzu blinked in surprise. "For me?" she asked.

"Hai," said the man next to Maki, bowing at her. "Kurosaki Yuzu-sama, Ankoujin Ryushin-dono requests your presence."

"Ankoujin…Ryushin?" asked Yuzu, wondering why the name sounded familiar.

"The current head of the Ankoujin Clan," supplied Byakuya. He glanced at her, his expression unreadable. "Your grandfather by blood."

"That is correct," said the man, nodding.

"I…see…" said Yuzu. "And…um…when does Ankoujin-dono wish to see me?"

"At your earliest convenience."

"He means now," said Byakuya, coolly. "Since very few things are important enough to place above a summons from a Lord of one of the Great Noble Houses."

Yuzu nodded. "I understand," she said. "I'll go right away."

"Maki will assist you in making yourself presentable before you leave," said Byakuya. "Given the nature of the summons, a clean uniform should suffice."

"Hai," said Yuzu. "Thank you for the help, Kuchiki-dono."

He acknowledged her thanks with a small nod, turning away. "Due to the nature of my duties, I will be unable to assist you in training for the next two weeks. We may meet again, tentatively, on the 12th of October after your classes end. I will inform you of any changes. Continue practicing the techniques."

"I will," said Yuzu.

Byakuya nodded. "Maki, if you will," he said. The servant bowed, indicating her assent.

"Come with me, Yuzu-san," she said.

"…And before I forget," said Byakuya as Yuzu was led away. She paused, looking up. "Inform your brother that I have received his request to meet with me and that, should this matter with Ryushin-sama be resolved at a reasonable hour, he may see me after."

Yuzu frowned in confusion but nodded once. She knew that if she wanted to know what it was about, she would have to ask Ichigo. "I'll tell him," she said. "Is there anything else?"

"No," said Byakuya. "You can go. Do not keep Ankoujin Ryushin waiting."

"Hai," she said. She gave Byakuya a quick bow, before following Maki out.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	23. Spirit of the dragon

**A/N:** **lynn**, Yuzu won't ever be _stronger _than Karin per se. I wanted the two of them to develop different strengths and at the same time be equal in strength, and Karin is strong enough on her own. ^_^

Anyway, this chapter wraps up fourth year. The next chapter will take them to their fifth year, and we'll get to see the team on a quick trip to the living world on a mission.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23: Spirit of the dragon<strong>

* * *

><p>The Ankoujin Manor was located directly across from the Kuchiki Manor, but considering that both were in the inner circle of Seireitei, it wasn't as long of a walk as it would have been otherwise. Yuzu briefly considered using shunpo, but her skill at it wasn't good enough that she would arrive at the other side without being tired out, and she didn't want to meet Ankoujin Ryushin sweaty and out of breath.<p>

So she took it at a decently-paced walk, her guide leading the way. He didn't say anything to her as they walked, and the silence made her progressively more nervous. What could Ankoujin Ryushin want with her?

They stopped in front of the manor gates, and Yuzu's eyes widened as she caught sight of two familiar figures. Karin and Masaryu were standing outside of the gates, almost identical irritated looks on their faces. They both looked up at her.

"Karin-chan?" she asked. "Masa-kun? What are you two doing here?"

"Same reason you're here, I guess," said Karin, rolling her eyes. "We had someone interrupt our game and tell us to get over here."

"Masa-kun?" asked Yuzu, turning towards him as the servant walked over to the gate, beginning to speak with the guard.

Masaryu shrugged. "Don't ask me," he said. "I don't know what it's about. Ojii-sama rarely informs me of his actions."

"Where were you anyway?" asked Karin.

"Ah…well, I was studying," said Yuzu, smiling. Karin frowned, giving her a look that said plainly that she didn't buy it. Yuzu changed the subject. "Who was winning your game?" she asked.

"I was," said Karin and Masaryu at the same time. They immediately stopped, glaring at each other.

"Dream on," said Karin. "Anyway, I was the only one called. So why are _you _here?"

"I _live _here!"

Yuzu looked away from the arguing pair as she felt a familiar reiatsu approaching. Ichigo materialized into the air next to them, a scowl on his face. He was wearing his shihakusho and captain's haori, Zangetsu strapped across his back.

"Oi, Masaryu, what's this about?" he asked.

"I don't know!" said Masaryu, turning towards him. "Why does everyone assume I know what this is about?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe because you _live here_," said Karin from behind him, folding her arms.

Masaryu glared at her.

Ichigo sighed. "Well, whatever," he said. "Can we just hurry this up? I feel kinda bad about leaving Hinamori to put out that fire by herself."

Yuzu's eyes widened. "Fire?" she asked.

"Aa," said Ichigo, scowling. "Let's just say I'm never letting my fifteenth seats lead a kidou practice again."

Yuzu and Masaryu sweatdropped. Karin sighed.

"Well…" she said. "The Fifth's definitely a livelier place since you took over, anyway," she said.

The servant came back, standing in front of them. He bowed. "Since everyone is assembled, we will enter now," he said. The three siblings and Masaryu turned to look at him, watching as the gates swung open. "This way, please," he said, leading them through the gates. Karin sighed, placing her hands behind her head and following him. Masaryu cast her a disapproving glance, following behind her.

Ichigo took a step forward, moving to follow them as well. Yuzu tugged on his sleeve, stopping him.

"Ano…Ichi-nii…" she began.

He frowned, turning towards her.

"What's up, Yuzu?" he asked.

"Kuchiki-dono asked me to tell you that you could meet with him as soon as this is over, if it doesn't end too late," she said.

Ichigo frowned at her, but nodded once, before walking into the manor.

* * *

><p>The Ankoujin Manor was about the same size as the Kuchiki one, but there were subtle differences in mood, layout, and décor. The servant led them through the halls, and Karin followed along with a frown on her face, glancing around. Given her initial reaction to the Kuchiki Manor, she was fully prepared to be bored andor irritated by this meeting. The servant stopped in front of a set of sliding doors, bowing towards them.

"Ankoujin-dono and Seishin-dono are in the courtyard," he said.

Karin glanced over at the doors, then nodded once, walking over to open them. The doors opened out onto a porch, which overlooked a rectangular courtyard. The courtyard held a pond with an intricate looking waterfall built into it, and several carefully tended trees.

Steel clashed against steel.

Two men stood in the center of the courtyard, swords in their hands. One of them had long brown hair, tied in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He was dressed in dark green and black, and looked to be about the same age as her father. The other one was obviously older. He had white hair already gone gray, and was dressed in a white gi and black hakama. The two of them came apart, both of them rushing forward at the same time as their swords clashed again.

Karin stared as she watched the spar.

They were _good_.

Masaryu walked past her, drawing his sword out of his belt. He sat in seiza, placing the sword next to him. Karin moved closer, Ichigo and Yuzu following her.

"The mark of the Ankoujin Clan is flawless swordsmanship," said Masaryu as they approached. "My father chose not to become a shinigami, however, he has trained extensively in the art."

"Sou…" said Karin, watching. "And…your grandfather?" She couldn't really bring herself to say 'our', even though it was technically true.

"Ojii-sama retired as a shinigami when Isshin-jisama gained his captaincy," said Masaryu. "I was very young at the time. However, I do know that he had an amazing reputation at the time of his retirement."

The two men sheathed their swords in one fluid motion, bowing to each other. The younger one, Seishin, turned towards them, a small grin on his face. "Sorry," he said. "We didn't mean to ignore you. We got a little bored waiting, and decided to spar."

"My son still needs some work," said the older man, Ryushin. "So, please forgive that talentless display."

Seishin's response was to roll his eyes. Karin immediately felt herself relax slightly. This was definitely a change from the stuffy atmosphere of the Kuchiki Clan.

"Um…I thought it was very good," said Yuzu from behind them.

"Thank you," said Seishin, nodding. "My apologies, but I don't know all of your names."

"Ah…I'm Kurosaki Yuzu," said Yuzu.

"Kurosaki Karin," said Karin with a frown.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I know _you_," said Seishin with a small smile, nodding at Ichigo. "You've made quite a few waves since you first broke into Seireitei." He turned towards the rest of them. "It's nice to finally meet my brother's children in person. My name is Ankoujin Seishin. You can address me as uncle if you like."

"You can call him anything you want," said Ryushin. "It'll teach him some humility."

"My honorable father seems to be going slightly senile in his old age," said Seishin with a smile. "Please forgive his eccentricities."

"Eccentricities," muttered Ryushin under his breath, shaking his head. "Seishin, go see to dinner, and let a man meet his grandchildren in peace."

"Hai," said Seishin, nodding once. He walked up the steps, moving past them. "Masa, you should come with me," he said.

Masaryu nodded, bowing slightly in place before getting to his feet and following his father through the sliding doors. The doors closed, leaving them alone in the courtyard. Ryushin muttered something under his breath about sons without manners, before looking up at them. His eyes landed on each one, studying them for a few moments before moving on to the next.

"I hear the three of you are close to Kuchiki Rukia," he said. "If you are, you should know by now that noble family elders take forever to make decisions. I would have met with you sooner, but it took me this long to convince them that it was wise." He rolled his eyes. "I won't be denied the right to meet my grandchildren because their father made a few mistakes."

"I would like the three of you to join us for dinner, unless you have other plans." His eyes drifted towards Ichigo. "Believe me, I know more than most how time-consuming leading a division can be."

"Ah…well, I think my vice-captain can handle things for a little while," said Ichigo.

"And the two of you?" asked Ryushin. Yuzu and Karin exchanged glances.

"I don't have anything to do," said Yuzu.

"Me neither," said Karin with a shrug.

"Good," said Ryushin. "Come, follow me. Let us talk."

Ryushin led them from the courtyard into another room. This one looked like a study, with shelves of books lining the walls. A pair of katanas were mounted on the far side of the wall as decoration, along with a tapestry that bore the Ankoujin seal.

"I'd always wondered when Isshin would settle down and give me grandchildren, but when it finally happened, it wasn't in a way that any of us expected," he said. "Marrying a commoner, as Kuchiki Byakuya did, is highly irregular, but not illegal. Becoming involved with a mortal is a different story."

"Our mother was a great person," said Ichigo, his tone a warning.

"I'm sure," said Ryushin. "She would have had to be, to put up with my son. Believe me, I have never blamed her. She was, from what I understand, completely unaware of any of this. So the fault lies entirely with Isshin. You understand that no matter what the circumstances are, abandoning your post as a captain and fleeing to the human world is something that cannot be easily overlooked."

Ichigo scowled, but said nothing, nodding once.

"_You _caused us some problems when you first came here," said Ryushin, turning towards Ichigo. "I didn't know who you were until I felt your reiatsu. There could be no mistaking it from there." He frowned, looking Ichigo over. "You also look a lot like your uncle, now that I think about it."

Ichigo frowned. "Like…Sei—?"

"No, not _that _uncle," said Ryushin. "I meant your father's cousin. Many of the original Five Noble Houses had intermarried at some point. My late wife was of the Shiba Clan."

Ichigo sweatdropped, his mind going back to Kukaku and Ganju. "You've got to be kidding me…" he muttered under his breath.

"I see you've met Shiba Kukaku," said Ryushin with a small smile. He walked forward, moving over to one of the bookshelves. "At any rate, dinner won't be ready for at least another half hour, so the three of you can have a seat. I'd be interested in learning more about you."

The three of them took seats. Karin sitting on a couch next to Yuzu as Ichigo took an armchair to himself. Karin frowned. "What do you want to know?" she asked.

"Well, let's start with you girls," said Ryushin, sitting down. "How are your classes?"

* * *

><p>The dinner and the meeting had taken up most of the afternoon, finally ending at around eight thirty in the evening. Ichigo decided that he liked Sei and the old man. They were slightly more formal than he was comfortable with, but unlike Byakuya, they didn't seem to mind being less formal when the situation called for it, and didn't particularly seem to care what either of them did.<p>

He would have participated more in the conversation, if his meeting with Byakuya wasn't weighing on his mind.

Ichigo appeared in the courtyard of the Kuchiki Manor, standing on the porch. Byakuya sat in front of the pond, a cup of tea in his lap. He didn't turn around as Ichigo appeared, and if Ichigo didn't know better, he would have said that Byakuya didn't know he was there.

"Yuzu told me to come," said Ichigo, walking over to him.

"I asked her to," said Byakuya, taking a sip from his cup. Ichigo dropped down next to him. Unlike Byakuya, he didn't bother with seiza, instead draping one arm across his knee and looking out at the pond.

"You still helping her with hakuda?"

The sixth squad captain replied with a slight 'hn'. Ichigo sighed, leaning back on his arms.

"I trust the meeting with Ryushin-sama went well?"

"I like him," said Ichigo. "Not as stuffy as I expected."

"What is the reason for this meeting?" asked Byakuya, taking another sip.

"You already know," said Ichigo.

"Ask as if I don't."

Ichigo sighed, straightening up. He felt his face heat up slightly, but he kept his eyes on the pond, thinking back to what had happened on the festival night. "It's about Rukia…" he began.

"You wish to court her," said Byakuya.

"I was gonna ask if it was alright to _date _her," said Ichigo, frowning.

Byakuya closed his eyes. "A woman of Rukia's status does not _date_," he said. "She is courted."

"What's the difference?" asked Ichigo.

"Terminology," said Byakuya. "_And _intent. If you wish to do this, you _will _do it properly. I will not have you dishonoring my sister and my clan. I will ask you this. Are you serious about pursuing my sister?"

"Well, I guess," said Ichigo. "We've been friends for a long time. And yeah, I have feelings for her. So—."

"Are you serious, Kurosaki Ichigo?" repeated Byakuya, interrupting him.

"Yes."

"I am aware of your ignorance of our customs and I am making allowances for it," said Byakuya. "However, if you truly are serious, you will one day find yourself in front of the Kuchiki elders, and they will not accept ignorance as an excuse. In the presence of the Kuchiki elders or myself, you will be referred to as a suitor. You will not argue with this. You will be respectful to the leaders of the Kuchiki clan and to me in their hearing. You may pursue a relationship with Rukia, but unless the two of you marry, she is to remain untouched. Do you understand this?"

"Yeah," said Ichigo, nodding.

"Very well," said Byakuya. "I will allow you to court my sister. However, whether or not she accepts your advances depends solely on her."

"Of course," said Ichigo, nodding.

* * *

><p>Kurosaki Isshin watched the full moon from the window of his house, reflecting over the walls of Seireitei. He stood leaning on the doorframe with his arms folded, a small smile on his face. He had felt the man's reiatsu almost as soon as he crossed the gates, heading out to the first district of Rukongai.<p>

"I was wondering when you'd finally come out here to see me," he said.

Ankoujin Ryushin rolled his eyes. "Someone like you shouldn't get cocky," he said.

Isshin shrugged, still smiling. "What did you think?" he asked.

Ryushin frowned. "They're good kids," he said. "You did well."

"It wasn't all me," said Isshin. "Masaki made sure to give them a good start."

"I think I might be able to get the council to approve my plan," said Ryushin. "I believe it's a fairly good compromise."

"Oho…"

"Of course, _you _couldn't be involved," said Ryushin, narrowing his eyes. "The responsibility would have to fall on Ichigo."

"Then he's the one you should be talking to," said Isshin.

"I will," said Ryushin. "Closer to the time." He frowned, turning around and beginning to walk away. "Honestly, you stupid son. If it wasn't for that stunt you pulled, I wouldn't have to jump through hoops for this. But…"

He paused, turning his head towards Isshin. "…I am glad I got a chance to see them. Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin…"

"…and you as well."

In a flash, he was gone. Isshin smiled and shook his head, taking a step away from the doorframe and letting the door slide back into place.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>The chapter is named for Ankoujin Ryushin, whose name (竜心) means dragon spirit (or dragon heart, or dragon mind, or dragon will…you get the picture). For those of you who are curious, Ankoujin Seishin's name (正心) means righteous spirit, or righteous mind. It can also be translated as "right mind", which I'm sure will come up as a joke at some point in this story. And finally, this all came about because Isshin's name (一心) means one mind.

If some of you are curious, yes, the first character of Isshin's name (the one meaning "one") is the same character in Ichigo's name. Another reason why I gave them this naming style is because it's a custom in some old Japanese families to pass down kanji characters in names from father to son. This can also be seen in Bleach in Ishida's family (So**ken, **_Ryu_**ken, **U_ryu_).

Masaryu's name doesn't have a character from his father, but it _does _have one from his grandfather. This is meant to signify that he's more his grandfather's heir.


	24. Don't leave me behind

**A/N:** This was originally supposed to go to fifth year and then another time skip to sixth year, but for the purposes of making the story go a little smoother, I decided to just make it go ahead to sixth year and then follow them all the way up to graduation. **Spoiler alert:** You're finally going to see some shikai in this arc!

This arc is also going to be slightly Yuzu-centric, because she has yet to _manifest _her zanpakuto, let alone achieve shikai, so I'm going to write in how it manifests.

Also, I know that Bleach finally solved the "Who are the new captains?" question, but since I wrote this before they solved it, I'm going to continue writing them in this universe that I came up with. That said, Ninth Division still needs a captain. And since I can't imagine anyone leading the Ninth besides Shuuhei (and Kensei, which Bleach decided on, but that's beside the point), I'm thinking about going ahead and just letting him get bankai.

So…suggestions for Shuuhei's bankai anyone?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24: Don't leave me behind<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Clear your mind…<em>Furutani-sensei had said.

_Breathe…_

Karin closed her eyes, her zanpakuto's naked blade lying across her lap. The world around her seemed to fade out, Furutani-sensei's instructions fading away into the distance. She had done this before. Many times before.

_She opened her eyes in the middle of a wasteland. _

_Karin stared, getting to her feet and looking around. She had seen glimpses of this place before, but this was the first time she had ever fully entered it. The ground seemed to be composed entirely of solid rock, mountains and spires rising up in the distance. It was nighttime, and there was no moon in the sky. As a consequence, the area was almost completely pitch black. She couldn't see more than outlines of things. _

"_Did you finally come to visit me?" asked a small, slightly high-pitched voice. _

_Karin recognized it as the voice she had heard before in jinzen, and again in her entrance exams. The voice of a child. She quickly whipped around, her eyes wide as she turned towards it. A figure stood half-hidden in the darkness. She couldn't really make out too many details, besides the fact that he was short. So it was a child, after all. He had dark hair, cut short around his face, and held a large stuffed animal in one arm. _

_It was a rabbit. Black, as far as she could tell, and about half his size. It was the clearest thing about him, considering the spirit itself was hidden in the darkness. _

"_You're my zanpakuto spirit?" asked Karin. _

"_Why?" asked the boy, laughing slightly. "Were you expecting something different?" _

_As a sixth-year shinigami academy student, Karin had heard the spiel multiple times. You entered your zanpakuto's inner world through meditation. It revealed its name. You achieved shikai. In the accelerated class, a few students had already done that. _

"_Well, then, go ahead and give me your name," she said. _

_The boy grinned, shaking his head. "Nuh-uh," he said. "You cheated the first time, drawing me out like that. Now you have to play fair." _

"_Cheated?" asked Karin. Her eyes widened as she remembered it. "Hey, that was my entrance exam! I had no choice!" _

"_You still cheated," said the boy. "So you're gonna have to guess my name." _

"_**Guess?**__" asked Karin incredulously. _

"_Oh, come on, it's not that hard," said the boy. "You already know half of it." The world around her began to fade, and Karin looked around quickly, her eyes wide. _

"_I'll be right here when you figure it out…" _

"_Hey, wait—!" shouted Karin, taking an angry step forward. _

"—that's not how it works, you little shit!" yelled Karin, shaking her zanpakuto vigorously.

A stunned silence surrounded her. Karin blinked, looking around. Her eyes widened as she realized that she was now in the zanpakuto training hall again, and several students were staring openly at her. She glanced from them to the sword in her hand.

A vein twitched in Furutani-sensei's forehead. "Ku…ro…sa…ki…" he said.

From beside her, Masaryu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his own blade lying across his lap.

* * *

><p>"Karin-chan!" said Yuzu, shocked.<p>

"What?" asked Karin, raising her chopsticks to her lips and taking a big bite. She chewed and swallowed. "How the hell was I supposed to know everyone could hear me?"

"If you can't tell the difference between your zanpakuto's inner world and the zanjutsu training hall, you have issues," said Masaryu, popping his chopsticks into his mouth.

"Shut up," said Karin. "I don't see _you _achieving shikai."

"Hn," said Masaryu in reply.

The three of them were sitting together underneath a tree on the Academy grounds, bento boxes in front of them. Yuzu frowned, her hand going to the nameless blade at her waist. Karin and Masaryu immediately stopped, turning to look at her.

"Yuzu…" began Masaryu.

"Sorry," said Karin.

"Iie…" said Yuzu. She looked up, a small smile coming to her face as she shook her head. "Don't be…It'll come at the appropriate time."

"Where'd you hear that?" asked Karin.

"Around," said Yuzu simply. She took another bite from her bento, quickly changing the subject. "Ah…so…I was thinking of heading over to Ojii-sama's tomorrow. We haven't been in a while, and it's the weekend. Do you two want to come?"

Masaryu and Karin exchanged glances.

"Well…" began Karin.

"It's not that we don't want to," said Masaryu quickly.

"We've got a living world mission," finished Karin.

Yuzu's eyes widened. "A living world mission?" she asked.

"Aa…" said Karin. "For the first class. Onabara-sensei said it was time for us to use our techniques in the real world. So we're going out to a desert where weak Hollows usually crop up…"

"Sou ka…" said Yuzu, looking away. "I didn't know about that."

"It's only for the first class," said Masaryu, frowning. "But we should be back before the weekend is over."

Karin nodded. "Say hello to Gramps for us."

"I will…" said Yuzu. She forced a smile on her face. "You two stay safe, okay?"

"Don't worry about us," said Karin, grinning. "We'll show those Hollows who's boss and come right back."

"Well, one of us will anyway," said Masaryu, taking a sip of tea.

Karin's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Masaryu. "What do you think?"

Yuzu watched as the two of them continued to argue, her smile fading slightly as her hands tightened around her cup.

* * *

><p>One…two…three…four.<p>

Masaryu moved in rhythmic motions, cutting down, stepping back, raising the sword, and cutting down again. He stood in the center of the Academy courtyard, his silvery-blue hilted zanpakuto gleaming in the lantern light. His blue eyes were narrowed in an expression of intense focus, fixed straight ahead of him.

Yuzu stood by her bedroom window, watching him. Masaryu would never tell them, but it was obvious that he was worried about the outcome of the mission. After living with Ichigo, Karin, and their father for so long, she had developed a knack for sensing when people were trying to be strong.

It made her wish she could be there with them.

_It will come at the appropriate time…_

Byakuya's words still rang in her head after two years. It had been fine before, when she was in fourth year and only a small percentage of their class had actually manifested zanpakuto. But she was in sixth year now. It wouldn't be long until graduation. And while some shinigami graduated without manifesting one, it was rare among the top classes.

Besides, wasn't she also a Kurosaki…?

She sighed, turning away from the window and trailing a hand on her desk as she stared down at her room. She closed her eyes, trying again to reach inside of herself and find that place that Karin and Masaryu had gotten to, the place that would allow their zanpakuto to manifest.

Silence, again.

And the still image of a pond, frozen in time, a droplet disturbing the water.

She opened her eyes, shaking her head and blowing out the candle on her desk. The room plunged into darkness.

That night, Yuzu dreamed of the moon.

* * *

><p>The Twelfth Division didn't sleep.<p>

The Research and Development Institute was lit by the glows of screens, several pale faces seated in front of their computers. It was late morning at this point, but several of them had been up all night at their captain's orders, tracking the anomaly that had shown up late the evening before.

"Kurotsuchi-taicho!" called one of the scientists, straightening up.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri looked up and turned towards him, interrupted in between yelling at one of the Division's newer members. "This had better be good!" he said.

"Sir, we've tracked the anomaly's position," said the scientist, stepping aside to allow Mayuri to approach the keyboard.

Mayuri 'hmm'ed and looked up at the screen, his eyes resting on the keyboard. A map of the living world was spread out on the screen, three points forming a green triangle on it. He stared at the triangle.

"Hmm…" he said. "This is…"

* * *

><p>"Yuzu, are you alright? You seem distracted."<p>

Yuzu jumped up suddenly at the sound of the voice. Her tea sloshed around in her cup, nearly spilling over. Ankoujin Ryushin stood over her, a frown on his face.

"O-Ojii-sama," said Yuzu. "I—I'm fine."

"Hmm…" said Ryushin, frowning at her as if he doubted that. "In any case, this meeting with the elders looks like it will take longer than I anticipated. You're probably better off heading back. I'm sure you're bored here."

She shook her head. "It's fine, Ojii-sama," she said. "Don't worry about it."

"You should head back and study, though," said Ryushin. "The qualifying exams will be here sooner than you think. Don't hold yourself here on my account."

"Then…I'll take my leave," said Yuzu, bowing towards him. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Any time," said Ryushin.

Yuzu sighed as the Ankoujin Manor's gates closed behind her. She needed to stop thinking about it. Karin and Masaryu were alright. She was sure of it. First class sixth-years went on living world missions all the time, and they all managed to get back safely. Besides, Karin and Masaryu were the best in their year. It would take more than a couple of Hollows to take them down.

She took off at a slow walk, moving across the inner circle of Seireitei towards the Academy. Shunpo would be the fastest way to get there, but she needed to clear her head. Ever since Karin left, she had felt uneasy.

_I'm being stupid…_she thought to herself, placing her hand on her forehead. _I need to stop worrying about it._

Two familiar shinigami appeared in the air in front of her, and Yuzu stopped suddenly, watching them. Kuchiki Byakuya landed on the ground first, his captain's haori falling into place behind him. A split second afterwards, Kuchiki Rukia appeared, her hand holding her zanpakuto close to her as she landed on the ground. She straightened up, turning towards her. Her brother glanced her way as well.

"Yuzu?" asked Rukia.

"Ah—good afternoon, Kuchiki-dono, Rukia-nee," said Yuzu, giving them a quick bow. The Kuchiki siblings acknowledged her greeting with a nod. Rukia looked concerned. Byakuya had his usual look of practiced indifference on his face.

"What are you doing here?" asked the younger Kuchiki.

"I was visiting my grandfather," said Yuzu. "Um…are you two heading home for the day?"

"We have finished our respective duties," said Byakuya. Rukia glanced around.

"Isn't Karin with you?" she asked.

Yuzu frowned, lowering her eyes. "Karin-chan had a mission to the living world with her class today," she said. "I'm sure she'll be back tomorrow, though."

"First class again," muttered Rukia. "As usual, they get all the best things." She paused for a moment, giving Byakuya a questioning glance. The older Kuchiki met her eyes, nodding once.

"Actually, if you aren't doing anything, you're welcome to come back with us," she said, turning back towards Yuzu.

Yuzu smiled. "If Kuchiki-dono doesn't mind," she said.

"It would not bother me," said Byakuya coolly.

"_Kuchiki-taicho! Kuchiki-fukutaicho!" _

Byakuya and Rukia looked up, their eyes narrowing. A shinigami jumped off one of the nearby rooftops, landing on the ground in front of them. He straightened up, out of breath. "Kuchiki…" he began.

"What is it, Rikichi?" asked Byakuya, interrupting him.

"The Twelfth Division has located a severe reiatsu anomaly moving rapidly into one of the training sites in the living world," he said. "We've lost all contact with the Academy class training there."

Yuzu took in a sharp breath, her eyes widening. In front of her, the siblings tensed.

"What measures are being taken?" asked Rukia, her tone immediately business-like.

"A-Ano…Hitsugaya-taicho has volunteered to lead the retrieval team. The soutaicho recommended Kurosaki-taicho as well, but he left to deal with a situation in Rukongai yesterday. We can't get in touch with him."

"Understood," said Byakuya. "Continue attempting to contact Kurosaki-taicho. Rukia."

"Hai, nii-sama," said Rukia, nodding.

The two siblings stepped forward, reiatsu crackling around them. Yuzu stared.

"I—I'm coming too!" she said quickly.

The two of them looked up, Rukia turning towards her. "Yuzu, it's dangerous," she said. "Let us handle this."

Yuzu shook her head. "Please, Rukia-nee," she said. "It's Karin…Don't leave me behind."

Rukia hesitated for a moment. Byakuya looked over at her, his gray eyes meeting hers.

"We cannot guarantee your safety," he said.

"I understand," said Yuzu, nodding.

"You will follow our orders without question."

Yuzu nodded again.

"Then we do not have time for this discussion. Do your best to keep up." He turned away, nodding once at Rukia. Rukia hesitated, but nodded back.

The siblings disappeared, flash stepping off towards the Senkaimon. Yuzu took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing in determination as she disappeared as well, following them.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	25. A taste of battle

**A/N:** Ichigo isn't missing exactly. He's just off to parts unknown on business. Apparently because Soul Society is so big, when captains do that, it sometimes takes a while to find and get in touch with them.

I had to invent my own villains here, but considering how many filler arc villains the actual show has, I don't think they'll get too far away from what could possibly be canon. Although I didn't want to go ahead and invent my own race, so I got a little unoriginal and went with Arrancar.

To the person who said I do a lot of research, thanks ^^ I don't have a beta, so I actually do it by myself, but you'd be amazed how much info you get just by fact-checking on the Bleach Wiki.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 25: A taste of battle<strong>

* * *

><p>Toshiro was waiting for them outside of the Senkaimon. The two Kuchiki siblings arrived first, Yuzu trailing along behind them. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, catching her breath quickly as the three of them walked over to the Tenth Division captain.<p>

Toshiro had a serious expression on his face as he waited for them, although if he was impatient—which, Yuzu realized, he probably was—he didn't show it.

"The Academy students were led by Senda Sayuri and Furutani Katsuo," he said. "They passed through the gate at 0800 to conduct routine drills. They maintained hourly communication with the library until just over an hour ago."

Byakuya nodded. "Last known location?" he asked.

"The standard first class training grounds," replied Toshiro.

"The gate is ready to be opened," said one of the waiting Kido Corps members, walking over to them. "Are you ready to leave?"

Toshiro frowned at Byakuya. "Kurosaki?" he asked.

"Away on business," replied Byakuya, coolly. "We are working on tracking him down."

"Alright," said Toshiro. His eyes landed on Yuzu for a moment, but he turned away, deciding not to comment on it. He turned towards the Kido Corps member. "We're ready," he said.

"Then, Kuchiki-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho, Kuchiki-fukutaicho."

The three officers nodded, facing the member of the Kido Corps that stood in front of them. As Yuzu watched, bright flashes of light flared up on each of their chests, fading into a shape that resembled a flower. For Byakuya, it was the Sixth Division's camellia, for Rukia, the Thirteenth's snowdrop, and for Toshiro, the Tenth's daffodil. The light faded away, and Rukia frowned, placing a hand on her chest.

"Are you alright, Rukia-nee?" asked Yuzu.

"Aa," said Rukia, lowering her hand. "I'm still not used to how that feels."

"The limiter is a necessity," said Byakuya. He nodded at the Kido Corps member. "Open the gate."

The Kido Corps member bowed, motioning for the gate to open. The Senkaimon began to glow, and Yuzu felt herself hesitate, stepping back slightly. She hadn't been to the world of the living for six years—not since she left it. The Dangai had been frightening back then. Would it be the same way now?

"Walk between Hitsugaya-taicho and myself," said Byakuya, and it took Yuzu a moment to realize he was talking to her.

"H-Hai," she said, quickly getting in place. Rukia walked beside her.

Together, the four of them passed through the gate.

* * *

><p>The Senkaimon opened into a desert, nothing but shifting sands as far as the eye could see. Yuzu shielded her eyes from the sun on reflex, but surprisingly, it wasn't as scorching hot as it might have been. She had learned in class that her current body was more durable than it had been when she was alive, but this was the first time she had truly noticed it.<p>

The sounds of battle hit her almost as soon as she stepped out of the gate, and the two captains and one vice-captain that were with her immediately turned towards it. A large group of Hollows were swarming around the air and the ground, a group of Academy students in red and blue uniforms fighting their way through it. The three shinigami officers immediately drew their swords.

"Stay close," said Byakuya, glancing once at her. He raised his sword up to eye level, turning the blade. "Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The katana dissolved into several sakura-like shapes, sweeping towards one of the Hollows. Rukia and Toshiro raised their swords as well, a wave of cold emanating from them as their eyes narrowed.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

Yuzu stared, her own hand falling to the hilt of the nameless blade at her side. The Hollows were everywhere, the feeling they gave off reminding her of that night, six years ago. But that night, she had only been able to feel them. This time, she could see them.

Karin was here somewhere…

Her eyes narrowed at the thought, and she took a deep breath, drawing her sword into her hand and trying to keep her calm.

"_Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" _

A pillar of ice rose up in front of Yuzu, trapping one of the larger Hollows inside of it. As Yuzu watched, the ice shattered, the Hollow collapsing to pieces. Rukia whirled around, slashing through a Hollow that was creeping up behind her. A second Hollow moved towards her, but it was quickly decimated by a whirl of pink sakura petals.

Yuzu raised her sword, blocking a Hollow's claws as it bore down on her. She grit her teeth, jumping back as it slashed at her again.

_The mask…_she reminded herself, drawing her sword into a guarding position. _Its weak point is the mask_.

She jumped up into the air, drawing her sword back and thrusting quickly at the Hollow's mask. Her sword cracked and shattered a portion of the mask, but it didn't break through it completely, and Yuzu screamed as the Hollow raised one of its paws, swatting her to the side.

An arm wrapped around her as she tumbled through the air, setting her gently on the ground. Yuzu looked behind her, her eyes falling on Toshiro. He had his zanpakuto in his hand, an ice dragon formed at the end of it.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Hai," said Yuzu, getting shakily to her feet.

"Nameless blades don't have as much power behind them as actual zanpakutos. Stick to kido if you can," said Toshiro. He jumped away from her, swinging his sword at one of the Hollows.

The Hollow thrashed around, holding the hole in its mask and growling. Furutani leaped into the air above them, spinning his zanpakuto over his head. It was in the shape of a halberd, but with blades on both ends. He brought it down, easily cutting through the Hollow.

"Furutani-sensei!" exclaimed Yuzu, lowering her sword.

"Kurosaki," said Furutani.

To his left, Senda-sensei flipped into the air, raising her hand and catching what appeared to be a giant shuriken as it flipped end over end, coming back to her. She landed nimbly on the ground, the two aerial Hollows she was facing dissolving into black dust.

"Keep up, Furutani!" she yelled.

"I'm on it, I'm on it!" shouted Furutani back. He jumped into the air, swinging one blade of his zanpakuto at one of the Hollows.

"Kurosaki-san, look out!" yelled one of the Academy students.

Yuzu whirled around, quickly jumping back and out of the way as another Hollow brought its claws down, stabbing down at the ground. Two Academy students rushed in, one of them using a released zanpakuto as they closed in on the hollow. She raised one hand to eye level, taking a deep breath and focusing her reiatsu as she jumped into the air.

"Bakudo # 4," she cried. "_Hainawa_!"

A golden whip formed into life around her fingers, shooting towards the Hollow and tightening around it. The Academy students quickly ran in on both sides, slashing at it with their zanpakuto and killing it. She landed on the ground, the cord fading away.

Byakuya stood in the center of a storm of pink petals, directing their movements with his hands. The petals cut through their targets easily, relieving two different groups of Academy students of separate Hollows. Behind him, the ground cracked, a worm-like Hollow bursting out as it shot towards his head.

"Nii-sama!" shouted Rukia.

Yuzu quickly brought her hands in front of her.

_"Hado # 4, Byakurai!" _

A bolt of white lightning shot just above the sixth squad captain's shoulders, slamming into the Hollow. It let out a roar of pain, blue energy crackling around it as it was knocked back. Byakuya turned around in one smooth motion, raising his hand. Senbonzakura's petals skirted back around him, slicing the disoriented Hollow to pieces. He turned his head. Yuzu stood a few feet away, traces of blue energy arcing around her hands as she lowered them, breathing heavily. Byakuya nodded once towards her, before turning towards Furutani.

"Furutani-sensei, is this the entire class?" he asked.

Furutani shook his head, landing on the ground next to him with his back turned. "Almost," he said. "We're missing Kurosaki and Ankoujin. They were off scouting ahead when the attack hit."

Toshiro paused in the middle of his attack, looking up.

"Which direction?" asked Byakuya.

In response, Furutani jabbed his thumb to the right. "East," he said.

Toshiro flash stepped over to them. "Kuchiki-taicho," he said.

Byakuya nodded in acknowledgment, and Toshiro flash stepped again, disappearing from sight. Yuzu stared after him, gathering her courage.

"A-Ano…Ku—." She took a deep breath. "Kuchiki-taicho!"

Byakuya glanced at her, then nodded as well. "You may accompany him."

Yuzu let out a sigh of relief, a smile spreading over her face. "Arigatou," she said, flash stepping away as well.

* * *

><p>The noise of the battle became quieter as they moved away from it, an expanse of desert stretching out ahead of them. Yuzu gulped down deep breaths of air in the quick moments between flash steps, doing her best to keep up with Toshiro. He moved quickly, scattering sand in his wake each time he landed. The white-haired captain held Hyorinmaru in one hand, his green eyes narrowed in a look of determination.<p>

Yuzu was having a difficult time keeping up, but she didn't slow down. The thought of Karin and Masaryu being off on their own was enough to make her heart pound and her blood run cold.

They needed to get there, and fast.

They had gone about half a mile when a wave of spiritual pressure tore through the air, very nearly knocking Yuzu off her feet. She landed on the ground in a crouched position, taking deep breaths. Toshiro didn't stop, jumping into the air and swinging Hyorinmaru downwards at the ground, sand scattering everywhere. A figure jumped out of the cloud of sand, very nearly avoiding Hyorinmaru's fangs as he landed on the ground.

She stared. The figure was clad in black white, a single piece of bone pulling his dark hair away from his face on the right side. In one hand, he held a sword.

She had studied pictures of people like that in class, and knew in theory what they were. She didn't think she would ever wind up encountering one.

Arrancar.

Toshiro landed on the ground beside her, apparently unfazed. He held his sword out in front of himself, the ice dragon coiling upwards. Yuzu straightened up, facing him.

"Well," said the Arrancar, grinning. "For such a young-looking kid, you sure have a lot of power. Hitsugaya Toshiro, right? We've heard of you." His eyes flicked towards Yuzu. "She's got some interesting reiatsu herself."

Toshiro's eyes narrowed, and he immediately stepped forward, extending an arm out protectively in front of her. His reiatsu crackled around him, and Yuzu felt the temperature in the area drop several degrees.

"Yuzu."

She looked up. "Yes, Hitsugaya-kun?" she asked.

"There's a canyon about a mile east of here," he said. "If Karin and Ankoujin were looking for a place to take shelter, they would go there. Be careful."

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she nodded once. "Hai," she said. "You be careful as well."

Toshiro nodded once, not turning to look at her. Yuzu took a deep breath, then used shunpo, flash stepping away from the two of them. Behind her, reiatsu flared as the two clashed. She could see bright flashes out of the corner of her eye. She didn't want to leave them, but she knew that she would only just get in the way.

Finding Karin was more important right now.

The canyon loomed up ahead of her, her shunpo quickly eating up the mile that lay between her and it. The sand had worn down the cliff face, a river twisting and coiling around its base and feeding the sparse grasses that grew there. The river was shallow now, opening up the base of the canyon.

There were a lot of places to hide, if necessary.

And a lot of places to fight.

"Karin! Masa-kun!" called Yuzu as she stepped into the canyon. "Karin, are you here?" Her voice echoed against the canyon's walls. "Karin!" she called. "Masa-kun!"

Gravel crunched behind her.

Yuzu's eyes widened and she turned around, freezing in place. A large Hollow stood behind her, pawing at the ground. There was a wound on its side, but that didn't seem to bother it, its eyes immediately fixing on her. It roared, charging towards her.

She jumped back, drawing her sword and blocking its claw as it bore down on her. The Hollow pressed down and Yuzu grit her teeth, widening her stance and trying to remain standing. It roared, raising its paw and striking down, sending her flying. Yuzu landed on the ground and pushed herself up, backing up quickly as she raised her hands in front of her.

_"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws." _she said. "_Hado # 33, Sokatsui!" _

An orb of blue fire shot forward from her hands, slamming into the Hollow's mask. It cried out in pain, sliding back. A cloud of dust and smoke rose up around it, obscuring it from view. She lowered her arm, taking deep breaths as silence fell for a few moments.

Then the Hollow roared again, charging out of the smoke.

_No way! _thought Yuzu, her eyes widening in shock as she reached for her sword.

A sharp voice rang out through the canyon.

"Slice open the sky, Setsuyoku!"

Several silvery darts burst out of the smoke, plunging into the Hollow that had Yuzu cornered. Her eyes widened, and she took a step back. The darts burst out of the other side of the Hollow, trailing black smoke behind them. The Hollow staggered forward and fell, bursting into motes of shadow. The shards of liquid silver rose into the air, turning around and shooting off into the distance.

Masaryu stepped out of the dust and smoke, holding a naked sword hilt in his hand. The shards swirled towards him, forming a blade of liquid metal at the end of the hilt. The metal blade continued to shift and shimmer, as if it was still not completely solid.

He lowered his sword, looking across the field at her.

"Masa…kun?" she asked, surprised.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Setsuyoku (切<strong>**翼****) – **Setsuyoku is Masaryu's zanpakuto. Its name means "cutting wings". Its shikai form is a liquid metal blade that can solidify and divide into different shapes. I went with the Great Houses = 5 Elements theme here on this one, since Kaien (former Shiba clan head, water) had a water-type zanpakuto, and Byakuya (Kuchiki clan head, wood) has Senbonzakura.


	26. Pure spirit, bright moon

**A/N:** Yuzu's battle theme is Mystogan no Theme from the Fairy Tail OST. If you like, you can play it when appropriate. I used it to write the whole part of the initial battle, before things started to turn sour.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 26: Pure spirit, bright moon<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Masa…kun…?" <em>

Masaryu looked up across the field at her, lowering his blade. The sword straightened out, becoming solid again and reverting to its sealed form as he slid it back into its sheath. "I achieved shikai at the end of last year," he admitted. "I didn't want to graduate early. I was planning on revealing it after this mission."

The noble let out a grunt of pain, his free hand shooting to his side. Yuzu's eyes widened in alarm as he doubled over. Now that the dust had settled down, she could see a dark spot of red on the fabric of his Academy uniform, bleeding through.

"Masa-kun!" she shouted, quickly running forward and catching him. He fell forward, slumping onto her shoulder. She gently pushed him back, setting him down so that he was lying propped up against a rock. Now that she could see him up close, she realized that her cousin's face was drawn and pale, the side of his uniform stained with blood. He was breathing hard.

"It was a Hollow," he explained, tilting his head back. "It got me earlier."

She quickly placed her hands over his wound, pale green energy flooding the space between them. Masaryu sucked in a breath, shaking his head.

"No," he said. "No time. Go to Karin."

"Your wound…" began Yuzu.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said. "We got attacked by Hollows earlier. We managed to fight them off. Karin's leg is injured. I left her further into the canyon, in a small cavern. It's not too far from here, on the left wall. I'll rest here until you get back."

Yuzu bit her lip, but nodded once, withdrawing from him. "There are Arrancar in the area, so stay hidden," she said. "Kuchiki-taicho, Kuchiki-fukutaicho, and Hitsugaya-taicho are here. At least one of them should be coming here soon."

Masaryu nodded once. She cast him one last glance before turning around and running further into the canyon.

* * *

><p>Karin was leaning against the wall of the cavern, clutching her leg. Yuzu gasped, quickly rushing over to her. Her zanpakuto lay on the ground beside her, just an inch from her right hand. The older Kurosaki twin's face was pale, and her breathing was labored.<p>

"Karin-chan," said Yuzu, her voice echoing loudly in the cavern.

"Yuzu?" asked Karin, turning to look at her. "What are you doing here?"

"We heard about the Hollows," said Yuzu. "Karin-chan, your leg!"

Karin scowled glancing down at her leg. "Twisted my ankle," she said. "I healed it up as best as I could."

"Here, let me," said Yuzu, pushing Karin's hands away. Her hands cupped the injured ankle, and she focused, letting her reiatsu flow out of her. Karin sucked in a breath.

"Careful."

"Sorry," said Yuzu, frowning. "I'm not as good at it as someone from the Fourth would be."

"You said 'we'," said Karin as Yuzu set out to heal the ankle. "Who's 'we'?"

"Ah…Rukia-nee, Kuchiki-taicho, and Hitsugaya-kun," said Yuzu. "Ichi-nii was supposed to come, but they couldn't find him."

"Hm…"

Karin took a deep breath, then placed her hands over Yuzu's, pushing them away. "That's enough," she said, picking up her zanpakuto and sliding it back into its sheath. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Okay," said Yuzu, nodding once. She drew back, taking Karin's arm and tugging at around her shoulders as one of her arms wrapped around her waist. Karin hissed in pain, but struggled to her feet. Yuzu frowned, looking over at her. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Karin. "I've had soccer injuries like this before."

Yuzu frowned. If it was up to her, she would stay and finish the healing, but Karin was right. It was dangerous to stay around here. Besides, she was leaving Masaryu by himself. She turned, the two of them slowly shuffling their way to the mouth of the cave.

"Leaving so soon?" asked a female voice, echoing through the cave.

Yuzu's eyes widened as she felt a presence behind her. Beside her, Karin looked up. The two of them turned around in time to see a flash of red moving towards them, naked steel gleaming in the sunlight filtering in from outside. The sword cut through the air, bearing down on them. Yuzu jumped back, the sword cutting through the empty air where she had been prior. She flash stepped to the side, her arm tightening around Karin. The two of them landed on the ground, Karin letting out a sharp gasp of pain as she landed on her injured ankle.

The woman turned to face them, grinning. She was dressed in white, and had bright red hair that fell halfway down her back. Her eyes were a brilliant gold. A mask fragment rested on the top of her head, almost like a hair piece. In her hand, she brandished her zanpakuto.

Another Arrancar. Yuzu's heart thudded in her chest. She knew enough about Arrancar to know that the smaller the Arrancar's mask fragment and the more human-like they seemed, the more powerful they probably were. She couldn't fight this woman on her own. But she couldn't leave Karin either.

Her brother would have fought. Karin would have fought.

The thought stopped her. Wasn't that what she was thinking earlier? That she was also a Kurosaki?

Byakuya and the others would be here soon. She just had to hold out until then.

Slowly, she lowered Karin to the ground, taking a step forward, and drawing her practice blade. The female Arrancar sneered at her.

"You're either very brave, or very stupid, brat. Probably a little of both." She pointed her sword at her.

"Oi, Yuzu," said Karin from behind her. Yuzu swallowed her fear, taking her sword in both hands and holding it at the ready. She closed her eyes, remembering Byakuya's words.

_Keep your center._

The woman charged at her, bringing her zanpakuto down. Yuzu stepped back and raised her sword in a block, the woman's blade clashing against it. The Arrancar's eyes narrowed over their crossed swords. "You can't be serious about fighting me with that," she said. She whipped around, kicking Yuzu in the chest and sending her flying back. Yuzu exhaled quickly to avoid getting winded, landing on her feet. She jumped back again as the woman came forward, raising her hand up to her face.

"_Hado # 4, Byakurai!" _

White lightning sizzled forward from her fingertip, heading towards the woman. The Arrancar grinned, swatting it away with one hand. "Pathetic," she sneered, rushing at her. Yuzu landed on the ground briefly before jumping away again. The Arrancar drew back her sword, thrusting it at her. Yuzu flash stepped away, appearing just to the left of her. The Arrancar closed in on her again, slashing wildly. Yuzu raised her hands.

"_Bakudo # 21, Sekienton!" _

Violet smoke poured out from the area around her as the Arrancar attacked. Yuzu jumped out of the smoke, her arms outstretched on either side of her as she landed quickly on the ground. The Arrancar growled in annoyance, swatting her hands around and sweeping away the smoke.

"Is running away all you can do?" she asked.

Yuzu said nothing, drawing two fingers across her body and touching them to the ground at her feet, her eyes narrowed.

"_Hado # 12, Fushibi!" _

Bright red flames sprouted up from the four points that Yuzu had landed on earlier, rushing towards the Arrancar at once. Her eyes widened, and she looked around quickly as the flares rushed towards her. They hit, accompanied by a brilliant flash. Yuzu seized the opportunity to flash step forward, drawing her sword from its sheath and quickly swinging it to the side towards the woman's waist.

The light from the flames faded away, revealing the woman holding Yuzu's blade. Her eyes widened. The Arrancar was staring down at her, completely unharmed from the flames. Her gold eyes were narrow as she watched Yuzu.

"First lesson about fighting Arrancar, brat," she said. "Remember the Hierro. A blade without a spirit like that will never cut me."

The woman's fist clenched. Yuzu's eyes widened as her sword cracked and snapped, half of the blade falling on the ground. The Arrancar's eyes fixed on her, and she froze in place.

"_Cero_."

Yuzu screamed as a blast of red light emanated from her, sending her flying off. She tumbled end over end, landing on the ground in a heap.

"YUZU!" shouted Karin. Her sister jumped to her feet, pulling her zanpakuto from its sheath and swinging wildly at the Arrancar. The Arrancar turned around, thrusting her fist out towards Karin.

"_Bala_," she said, calmly.

Karin let out a cry of pain as the force threw her back against the wall, her sword clattering onto the ground. Yuzu pushed her head up from where she lay, her eyes wide. "Karin-chan!" she cried.

The Arrancar turned towards her, gripping her zanpakuto in one hand. "Catalina Falza," she said, to Yuzu. "Take note of it. It'll be the name of the Arrancar that kills you."

Yuzu took a deep breath as Catalina took a step forward, trying to push herself up. Her body screamed in pain, and she fell back down onto the ground, unable to summon up the strength. She tried again, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.

_Move…_she thought, pushing up again as she opened her eyes.

…_It's no use. My body won't…move…_

…_Is this how it ends? _

Her body slumped forward, defeated.

…_Gomen…Karin-chan…Masa-kun…Kuchiki-dono…Otou-san…Ichi-nii…_

…_I wasn't able…to become strong after all…_

Yuzu closed her eyes, the sight of Catalina's blade bearing down on her the last thing that she saw.

_I wasn't able…_

_**For what do you desire strength? **_

The words seemed to form in the blackness on the inside of her mind, written vertically in kanji from right to left. They were glowing faintly, seeming to shift and shimmer as she looked at them.

Yuzu closed her eyes, responding in the same way. Her own words superimposed on the words in her mind, their kanji flickering with their own unearthly light.

_I want to protect the people that I love…_

The words shifted, changing again.

_**Is that truly your reason? **_

_I don't want to be the only one left behind…the only one that's weak…I want to be strong…so that I can support them too…_

_**I see.**_

_**Then, Kurosaki Yuzu, open your eyes. **_

Yuzu opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground in a field of grass, a few feet away from a still pond. It was nighttime, the full moon hanging bright in the sky and reflecting on the surface of the pond. Yuzu shifted forward, blinking as she looked down into the pond of water.

A girl was reflected in the pond, sitting in seiza and watching her. Yuzu stared, realizing that it wasn't just any girl.

It was herself. The girl in the pond looked exactly like Yuzu, except for the clothes that she wore. Unlike Yuzu, she wore a white kimono, a white cloth hovering over her shoulders like a shawl. Her blond hair was pinned back by two identical hairclips on either side, all pure white. Her hands were folded in her lap.

Her reflection…and yet, not.

"Who…are you?" she asked, surprised to find that she could speak. The question formed on the surface of the water.

The girl in the water raised a hand, writing something on the surface. At once, the reflection in the pond shimmered and changed, two kanji characters appearing in the water.

The world around her faded away, Catalina's sword bearing down and coming back into focus.

The sword plunged down, heading towards her.

* * *

><p>"There," said Masaryu, pointing at the cave. "They're in there."<p>

Rukia stared up at the cave, glancing at her brother. The Ankoujin heir was being supported by Byakuya—but only enough to keep him upright. He had too much pride to allow the head of another noble house to carry him. Byakuya nodded once, flash stepping over to the mouth of the cave. Masaryu let out a grunt of pain, but more or less bore the transition well. Rukia followed.

She gasped at the sight in front of her. Yuzu was on the ground, a red-haired Arrancar looming over her with a sword. Karin lay a few feet away from her, barely conscious. Rukia's hand immediately went to her sword, drawing it slightly.

Byakuya reached out and placed his hand over Sode no Shirayuki's hilt, shoving the sword back into the scabbard. She looked up.

"Nii-sama?" she asked, confused.

"Watch," ordered Byakuya.

The red-haired Arrancar moved forward, a look of glee on her face as she raised her zanpakuto on Yuzu's prone figure. Rukia tensed. She sucked in a quick breath at the sight, her fists clenching. The sword bore down, the sunlight gleaming off its edge. Yuzu lifted her head to meet it, her eyes shadowed by her hair.

And _smiled_.

"…Arigatou," Rukia heard her whisper in the sudden silence. _"…Jungetsu…" _

A blinding flash of reiatsu flared up around her. Rukia's eyes widened, and she tilted her head slightly so that she wasn't looking at it head on, her arm going up to shield her eyes.

"What the hell?" shouted Catalina, shielding her eyes with her arm and jumping back, raising her zanpakuto to protect herself. Rukia stared, her heart suddenly beating quickly in her chest.

_This reiatsu…_she thought. _When did Yuzu…? _

A figure rose out of the circle of light. Yuzu jumped into the air, her Academy uniform fluttering around her and her eyes narrowed in anger and determination. In each hand, she held an identical white fan, a white sash binding the two of them together at their bases. Both fans were unfurled, the one in her right hand pulled close to her chest as the one in her left was extended outwards. The younger Kurosaki twin's eyes were glowing blue, the same way Ichigo's did when he was attacking at full strength.

Rukia watched her, surprised.

_Dual…_

"I-Impossible!" said Catalina. "That's not—!"

Yuzu raised the fan in her left hand.

"…Getsuga…Tenshou!"

She spun around rapidly, extending the fans out in front of her. Compressed reiatsu shot out from their edges as she spun, forming a white-crescent shaped blade. The blade shot towards Catalina as Yuzu plummeted out of the sky and landed crouched on the ground, one fan extended out behind her and the other pulled close to her chest. The Arrancar raised her sword quickly to block the blow. The attack hit, throwing dust and gravel up everywhere and obscuring her opponent from view. A shout of pain echoed from within the dust cloud.

Yuzu let out a ragged breath.

Slowly, Byakuya removed his hand from Rukia's sword.

"Yuzu!" shouted Rukia, flash stepping forward. She appeared in front of the younger girl, a worried expression on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Byakuya moving over to Karin, Masaryu having been deposited somewhere by the mouth of the cave.

Yuzu closed her eyes, and the fans in her hands began to fade, the cloth between them shrinking and forming a katana. Its hilt was wrapped in white leather, its guard a metallic gray. She stared down at it for a moment.

Yuzu slumped forward, falling unconscious.

* * *

><p>Toshiro lowered his sword as the Arrancar in front of him stumbled back, breathing heavily. Shards of ice covered his body, but in spite of that, there was a grin on his face. "You haven't used your bankai," he said. "That's no fun. I was hoping to see you go all out."<p>

"I don't need to use my bankai to defeat you," said Toshiro.

"You're pretty bold," said the Arrancar, raising his sword. "Maybe it's time I went all out."

Toshiro's eyes narrowed and he gripped Hyorinmaru in both hands, getting ready.

There was a flash, and a second Arrancar came into view, appearing in front of them. She was red-haired, and was bleeding from a long gash across her chest. One of her hands pressed across the wound, her face twisted in a scowl.

The Arrancar facing him glanced at her, lowering his sword. "Catalina?" he asked.

"That little _bitch_," growled the female Arrancar. "If it wasn't for that damn Kuchiki, they'd be picking her up in _pieces_!" She turned towards him. "Sieg, quit playing around! Let's go!"

Sieg turned towards Toshiro, giving him a lazy smile. "Well, later then," he said, shrugging once as the enraged Arrancar tapped the air around her, opening up a Garganta. Toshiro watched as the two of them stepped through it, slowly lowering his sword as it closed. \

_Karin, _he reminded himself.

He turned to face the canyon, flash stepping away.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Jungetsu (<strong>**純月****)****– **Jungetsu is Yuzu's zanpakuto. Its name means "pure moon". Like all of the other Kurosaki zanpakutos, it follows the –getsu naming pattern, and can use Getsuga Tenshou. It is a dual-wield zanpakuto, and appears as two identical white fans bound by a piece of white cloth. Further details will be revealed as the story goes along. ^^


	27. The nighttime palace

**A/N:** To those who are asking, again, Yuzu will never be stronger than Karin. My point in this was to make them equal in strength, although in different ways. So Karin packs a lot more raw power than Yuzu, because her own potential is about equal or close to Ichigo's, but Yuzu has more versatility and control over her reiatsu and is able to use it in various different ways.

Think of it as a talent vs. technique situation. In some situations, you need a sledgehammer, in others, you need a knife.

Also, Jungetsu isn't the first dual-wield zanpakuto since Ukitake and Kyoraku. Don't forget, Shuuhei has one too. They're rare, and supposedly represent uniqueness in reiatsu. Jungetsu has some unique properties of her own that we'll see later on. And while zanpakuto do have their individual unique attacks, since both Isshin and Ichigo are shown to use Getsuga Tenshou, I thought that it would carry on to all of the –getsu named zanpakuto. (You won't be seeing Mugetsu from either Yuzu or Karin though)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 27: The nighttime palace<strong>

* * *

><p>Yuzu awoke to voices coming from the hallway. She opened her eyes, looking around. It had been the second day since she, Karin, and Masaryu had been brought back from the living world. Although she and Karin were mostly healed, they had both sustained serious injuries, and had been admitted to the Fourth for observation.<p>

She frowned, listening to the voices. It sounded like her brother, Rukia, and Toshiro. Their voices were muffled and hushed, as if they were trying to keep their voices down, but there was a slightly heated tone to their conversation. She frowned. Ichigo had come rushing back a couple of hours after they had been brought back. She remembered seeing him when she first woke up.

Yuzu pushed the blanket off of herself, sliding out of bed. She was dressed in a white robe, the kind given to all patients at the Fourth. Yuzu ran a finger along the bandages wrapped around her chest for a moment, checking them. A faint smile appeared on her face as she glanced at the zanpakuto that had been left at her bedside table, looking fairly innocuous in the sunlight that streamed in through the windows. Behind it were various cards and gifts from people in her class. Seishin and Ryushin had stopped by once as well, as had Byakuya and Rukia, briefly, and Toshiro and Rangiku. Her father and Ichigo drifted in and out constantly.

_Ohayou, Jungetsu-chan…_she thought, running her hand across her zanpakuto's hilt. She pulled away, moving towards the door as the voices became louder and clearer.

"There's no _point_ in rushing down there, Ichigo," said Rukia.

"Kuchiki-fukutaicho has a point," said Toshiro. "We don't know what the situation is like in Las Noches. For all we know, the remaining Espadas could have been ousted years ago."

"Harribel and Grimmjow?" asked Ichigo. "Yeah, right. Look, I'm just saying it's suspicious. We haven't seen any Arrancar in years, and now…"

"Ichigo," said Rukia. "I understand how you feel, but—."

Yuzu slid the sliding door open, peering out. The three shinigami were clustered in the hallway, talking to each other.

"Ichi-nii?" she asked, a frown on her face as the three of them turned towards her.

Ichigo placed a hand on his head, running it through his hair. "Ah, Yuzu," he said. "Shouldn't you be resting."

Yuzu shook her head. "I'm feeling a lot better now," she said. "Is everything alright?"

"Aa, everything's fine," said Ichigo. He stepped forward, placing a hand on Yuzu's head. "Don't worry about it." He turned his head, glancing back at Rukia and Hitsugaya. "Anyway, the old man gave me permission, so I'm going. You two don't have to come along, I'll be right back."

He turned, walking away. Rukia glared after him, folding her arms. "Hmph…" she said. "That man…sometimes…"

"He certainly has his own way of doing things," said Toshiro.

"You're telling me," said Rukia, rolling her eyes. She sighed. "Anyway, I should be getting back to my Division. Take care, Yuzu."

"Mm," said Yuzu, nodding. "Thanks, Rukia-nee."

"I should be heading back too," said Toshiro. He glanced back at Yuzu. "Don't overdo it."

"I won't…" said Yuzu, watching them leave. She took a deep breath. "Um…" The two of them stopped, looking back at her. Yuzu lowered her eyes. "Will…Will Ichi-nii be alright?" she asked.

Rukia and Toshiro exchanged glances. It was Rukia who spoke.

"Ichigo has the amazing ability to go where he isn't supposed to go and come out alive," she said. "I wouldn't worry about him too much."

"Alright," said Yuzu, nodding once. It didn't make all of her worries go away, but it did make her feel better about them, at least. She watched as the two division officers left, then sighed, closing the door behind her and walking off in search of Karin.

* * *

><p>Karin frowned, staring at the list in front of her. She tapped her pen on the side of the piece of paper, glancing at the sheathed sword that lay on the night table beside her bed.<p>

"…Saigetsu?" she ventured.

Nothing. The sword remained still. Karin frowned, her eyes flicking down to the next item on the list. On the piece of paper in front of her were two columns. The first held a variety of changing kanji characters with different meanings. The second solely held the character for moon.

"Shigetsu?" she asked. Nothing. Karin scowled. "…Shingetsu?"

This time, she thought she felt the sword respond. Karin lowered the pen and paper to her lap, staring at it. A small amount of energy drifted out of it, and for a moment, Karin heard her zanpakuto's voice before it disappeared again. Her fist clenched tightly around her pen.

Damn it. The little rat was _giggling _at her.

"Won't be too hard, my ass…" she muttered under her breath as the door slid open. "Dammit! I give up already, just tell me!"

Her zanpakuto responded with silence. Karin resisted the urge to grab the sword and throw it across the room in frustration. The last time she did that, she had nearly killed Hanataro.

Plus the sword's spirit seemed to be either really shy or really unfriendly. Toshiro had remarked on feeling a bit of a bite when he picked it up off the ground and handed it back to her. Having _met _her zanpakuto's spirit, she was of the impression that he was really just a jerk.

"Karin-chan?" asked a familiar voice.

Karin looked up, frowning as she saw who was standing in the doorway. Yuzu slid into the room, taking the seat next to her bed.

"Oi, what the heck are you doing up?" asked Karin. "You should be resting."

"Ah…well, Yamada-san said I could walk around a bit today if I wanted," said Yuzu. "He said the two of us should be ready to leave by tomorrow."

"Great," said Karin, leaning back in bed. "So much for a holiday."

"Still nothing?" asked Yuzu, her eyes drifting towards the list.

"Nothing," said Karin, rolling her eyes. "I've started going through a dictionary and picking out the best characters, but the damn thing won't even give me a hint."

"I'm sure it will come soon…" said Yuzu.

"If it depends on Karin figuring it out, don't count on it," said a voice from the door.

"No one asked you!" yelled Karin, sitting up in bed and glaring at Masaryu. The noble said nothing in reply, closing the door behind him. He was dressed in his Academy uniform, a bag and a small wooden box in his hand.

"More homework?" asked Yuzu.

"Aa," said Masaryu, placing the bag next to Karin. He turned towards Yuzu. "Iwase is coming in a little while with yours."

Yuzu smiled. "Thanks, Masa-kun," she said.

"Don't mention it," said Masaryu. "It would be shameful to our house if a relative didn't graduate on time."

"Tch, as if _that _was gonna happen," said Karin.

Masaryu, again, ignored her. He opened the bag, taking out a sheet of paper. "I thought you two might like to know that the schedule for the qualifiers came out. The exams will start with zanjutsu next month and carry into the new year."

"Already?" asked Yuzu, frowning as she took the offered sheet of paper. Karin took hers as well, staring down at it. The written exams were all clustered together at the end of the examination period, but the practical exams stretched for weeks on end.

"Why so long for one exam?" asked Karin.

"The qualifying exams are public events," replied Masaryu. "For the sixth years, they have to be spread out over a period of about two weeks, an hour at a time."

"Zanjutsu, then kido, and hakuda last," said Yuzu frowning. She folded it up, setting it aside. "Suddenly, I'm a little nervous."

"Yeah, no kidding…" said Karin. She glanced down at the bottom of the list. "Officer interviews?" she asked.

"Mm," said Masaryu. "If we score high enough on the exams, we'll be invited to participate in a seated officer interview. Most first class students make the right grades. We would have to stand in front of a panel and answer questions."

"Who would be in the panel?" asked Yuzu.

Masaryu hesitated, glancing at her. He looked nervous at the prospect as well. "From what I understand," he said. "All captains or vice-captains of the Gotei 13 will be sent the list of potential officers and our records. They may come in person or send senior officers of their Divisions as representatives."

"So…no pressure," muttered Karin.

"At any rate," said Masaryu, shaking his head. He held out the box in his left hand. "We drew lots for the zanjutsu qualifiers today. Furutani-sensei allowed me to take this to you so that you two could participate as well. It'll be a kata exam followed by a combat test—Class 1 versus Class 2." He turned towards Karin, handing the box out to her. "There's two numbers in here. One for you and one for me. Yuzu." He drew a piece of paper out of his pocket, passing it to her. "This is yours."

Yuzu took it from him, gingerly opening it and staring down at it. "Number seventeen," she said, putting it away.

Masaryu opened the lid of the box, drawing out one number. He unfolded it, staring at it. "Nine," he said, putting it aside.

Karin frowned, glancing inside the box. A single piece of paper sat in it, folded. She grabbed it, opening it slowly. Her eyes widened and she froze, staring down at it.

"…Karin-chan?" asked Yuzu, a concerned look in her face.

In response, Karin looked over at her, raising the piece of paper and turning it so the number faced her.

Painted on the piece of paper was a large number 17.

* * *

><p>The halls of Las Noches stretched on endlessly, white walls and white corridors twisting and turning. Ichigo hadn't run into any of its occupants since arriving, but he was sure that they were aware he was here. It made him wonder for a moment why no one had come out to confront him. The last time he had been here, a few years ago, he had been ambushed almost as soon as he stepped through the doors.<p>

Then again, the place had been under slightly different management since then.

His eyes narrowed as he felt a familiar reiatsu.

"Yo, Kurosaki Ichigo!" growled a voice he hadn't heard in a while. "Finally here to finish our fight?"

He turned around, raising Zangetsu and blocking Grimmjow's downward swing. The two swords clashed, and Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he looked over the crossed blades at the blue-haired Arrancar. He still couldn't shake the feeling. Ever since the jigokucho had finally found him and he had rushed back into Seireitei just in time to see Byakuya and Toshiro carrying his sisters out of the Senkaimon. He needed to do _something, _and sitting around was driving him insane. It was the reason he had gone to the soutaicho and volunteered to gather information in the first place.

Grimmjow's eyes drifted towards his captain's haori. "Well, that's a symbol we haven't seen in a while. Here to try and take over? Letting ya know right now, I ain't followin' you anywhere."

Ichigo jumped back, swinging Zangetsu down at Grimmjow. Blue reiatsu shot outwards from the sword, a Getsuga Tenshou. Grimmjow raised his sword to block it, a grin on his face as he sliced through it. Two thin lines of blood appeared on the backs of his hands as the energy dissipated.

"Cut the crap," said Ichigo. "I'm not here to take over anything. I want answers."

"I'm not giving you anything without a fight."

"Fine by me," said Ichigo, gripping Zangetsu with both hands and holding it at the ready in front of him. "But I'm not in the mood to play around."

"No problem," said Grimmjow, grinning. "Let's cut to the chase."

He held his sword out in front of him, reiatsu glowing around it. Reiatsu flared up around Ichigo as well, glowing bright blue for a moment before fading into black.

"Grimmjow, stop," said a familiar high-pitched voice.

Ichigo's eyes widened, and he lowered his blade. Across from him, Grimmjow spat on the ground in annoyance. The shinigami captain ignored him, turning to face the sound of the voice.

A green-haired Arrancar stood at the end of the hallway, dressed in white.

"Nel…" he said.

Nel stared at him for a moment, her expression serious. Then, her eyes widened, a smile appearing on her face.

"Ichigo!" she said excitedly, running forward and tackling him. Ichigo let out a shout of surprise as he was suddenly pushed to the ground.

"Oi—Hey—Nel! Let go!"

"Ichigooooo~" said Nel. "I haven't seen you in so long, and you never came to visit, and when did you become a captain, and—!"

Grimmjow sweatdropped at the sight, sighing and placing a hand over his face.

* * *

><p>"After I recovered from the battle with Nnoitra, I was able to assume this form again," said Nel, folding her arms. The three of them were seated in one of the palace's rooms. This one was a living room, with three white couches around a low coffee table. "Grimmjow, Harribel, and I are the only three Espadas left."<p>

"What, you didn't get any more?" asked Ichigo.

"Thought about it," growled Grimmjow. He jerked his thumb in Nel's direction. "Little miss nice girl over here didn't like their personalities."

"We have time to fill the ranks," said Nel. "There's no point in rushing it. Besides, you weren't happy with the applicants either."

"Bunch of weak ass punks," said Grimmjow.

"Anyway," said Nel, turning towards Ichigo. "You said you were looking for answers."

"Aa," said Ichigo, frowning as he remembered why he was here. "A couple of Arrancar attacked a group of Academy students in the living world two days ago."

"And they sent you all the way down here?" asked Grimmjow. "Weak Arrancar'll pick off anything that moves."

"They didn't send me," said Ichigo. "I volunteered." He looked up at Nel. "Two of the Academy students injured in the attack were my sisters. The third was my cousin. Two other captains were there at the time. They said the Arrancar had Espada-level reiatsu."

Nel frowned, getting up from her seat. She walked over to a large set of screens on one side of the room, pressing a button. The screens flared to life, and she placed her hands on the keyboard. Ichigo watched as a database came up on the screen. Across from him, Grimmjow lifted his head, slight interest on his face.

"Do you know their names?" she asked.

"One of them was named Catalina Falza," he said. "She called the other one Sieg."

Nel typed the names in, pressing a button. Immediately, images cropped up on screen, the computer sorting through pictures of Arrancar in varying stages of transformation. The images flickered on the screen for a few moments, before the pictures disappeared, a message outlined in red appearing on it.

"There are no Arrancar on record by the names of Catalina Falza or Sieg," said Nel, a slight frown on her face as she glanced back at them. "Are you sure those were their names?"

"I'm sure," said Ichigo.

Nel frowned, exchanging a glance with Grimmjow. The blue-haired Arrancar sat up a little straighter, although he was still hunched forward in his seat.

"What?" asked Ichigo.

"All Arrancar were created by Aizen using the Hogyoku," said Nel. "Their names and numbers were all recorded here. All existing Arrancar are contained in this database…"

"They exist," said Ichigo flatly.

"I believe you," said Nel. "But if they exist, their transformation was never recorded." She sighed.

"Has Aizen written all over it," grumbled Grimmjow.

"Agreed," said Nel, nodding.

"But," said Grimmjow, jumping up. "If there are strong Arrancar out there, this might be interesting."

Ichigo got to his feet, a frown on his face.

"Be careful, Ichigo," said Nel. "Aizen's plots run deep."

Ichigo frowned, glancing back at Nel. "Yeah," he said, "I know."

"We'll look into things on our end," said a voice from the door. Ichigo looked up, turning towards Harribel. The dark-skinned Espada had her arms folded, and she was leaning against the doorframe. "Espada-level Arrancar running around unchecked will only cause trouble in the future."

Grimmjow grinned, clearly excited at the prospect. On the other side of the room, Nel nodded once.

Ichigo glanced at the three of them, his eyes finally landing on Nel. "Alright," he said. "I'll leave it to you."

Harribel sighed, straightening up from her position. "I'll open a Garganta," she said, turning away. Ichigo nodded, exchanging a quick goodbye with Nel before following her.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	28. Things better undefined

**A/N:** Alright, so…I've officially decided on a Yuzu pairing. I'm going to do ByaYuzu. **BUT **since I know that this is a controversial pairing, I will not do it in this fic. Instead, **Phases **will end as scheduled with a HitsuKarin conclusion and the twins' graduation, and that pairing will be brought up in a sequel set a few years after Phases ends. If you are incredibly averse to the pairing, you do not have to read the sequel, because the HitsuKarin plot **will **be completed in Phases.

The reason I decided on this pairing was because I have ideas for it and I want to write them. Ultimately, fanfiction is about writing what you want to write, and reading what you want to read. So if you don't like the pairing, don't read the sequel.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 28: Things better undefined<strong>

* * *

><p>Setsuyoku's silver blades curved through the air, swinging around and heading towards their target. Yuzu raised one of Jungetsu's fans, catching the first set of blades with the side and sending them towards the ground with a delicate flick of her wrist. The second set of blades, she blocked with her second fan.<p>

Masaryu raised his hand, his palm flat over the sword's empty hilt. The metal against the fan liquefied, silvery gray strands shooting around the fan towards her as the metal on the ground did the same. Yuzu's eyes narrowed, and she flash stepped out of place, the two waves of liquid metal crashing into each other and shattering into silver shards. She reappeared in front of Masaryu, one of her fan blades sweeping outward across his chest. He stepped back just in time, avoiding the attack.

Ichigo watched them from the veranda, a frown on his face. He'd been a shinigami for about ten years now, so he could recognize when they were making mistakes. But the two of them moved well. Yuzu was a little too hesitant, and Masaryu was a little too rushed, but he had seen enough Academy graduates by now to know potential when he saw it. It unsettled him slightly. He had never wanted this for his little sisters, especially not Yuzu. If he was being honest with himself, he had always known that Karin would get involved in this eventually, but he had hoped to keep Yuzu from the fighting at least.

He wouldn't hold them back, though. He'd stick to what he told Byakuya in the beginning. Their lives weren't his to control.

"Something bothering you?" asked a voice from beside him.

Ichigo turned his head, looking over at Ankoujin Ryushin. His grandfather stood by the sliding door that led into the house, watching the two of them with an appraising frown on his face.

"They're rough around the edges, but they could go a long way yet," he said. He paused, studying them. "Where is Karin?" he asked.

Ichigo shrugged. Karin had a habit of wandering off. He'd stopped trying to keep track of her ages ago. "…Probably out with Toshiro," he said. It was his best guess, and lately, it was starting to be right more often than wrong. Everyone with eyes could see where that was going, and he heard from Renji that Rangiku had already started a betting pool on the subject. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but strangely, he wasn't as upset about Toshiro as he should have been.

He saw how Toshiro acted around Karin.

"I see," said Ryushin. He frowned, watching as another attack headed towards Yuzu. The youngest Kurosaki's eyes were calm, focused on the attack. She brought one of Jungetsu's fans down, sweeping it aside. Masaryu came quickly behind the attack, a dagger of liquid steel in his hand. He stabbed it at her, and she held the fan up in front of her face, the knife punching through the fabric between the tines. Her eyes widened in surprise and she stepped back, but she recovered, her foot sliding behind her to steady herself as she slammed the fan closed. She pivoted smoothly to one side, twisting her wrist as she did and jerking the knife right out of Masaryu's grip.

"Calm and focused," the Ankoujin head commented. "Those lessons with Kuchiki are helping."

Ichigo scowled, folding his arms. That was another thing he had a problem with. What the hell was Byakuya doing, _encouraging _this? If he had his way, he'd stick Yuzu in Fourth and be done with it.

…_If he had his way…_

Dammit.

He almost laughed at the realization that struck him then. He'd been _so _angry nine years ago, when he first found out that it was Byakuya that had been keeping Rukia as an unseated shinigami, just to keep her safe. He'd been angry enough to march up to him and yell at him about it. Not in public, because he was brash, not _insane_, but he had definitely raised hell.

"Speaking of Kuchikis," said Ryushin, interrupting his train of thought. The old man glanced over at him, a calculating expression on his face. "How are things between you and Rukia-san?"

Ichigo frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Good," he answered. "Everything's fine. Why?"

Ryushin shrugged in response. "An old man's idle curiosity," he said. "A part of me is still surprised Kuchiki allowed it. But this has the potential to be very interesting further down the line."

Ichigo nodded once, going back to watching the spar. He didn't believe it, of course. Ryushin was nobility down to his bones. He was a lot less formal than Byakuya, but Ichigo was starting to learn that he didn't speak lightly, and he didn't do things out of idle curiosity. He was calculating something, working something political out in his head. Since Ichigo doubted it was something that would put him in danger or get him in trouble, he let it go.

"I actually came out here to speak to you about something," he said. "Do you have a moment?"

"I'm not doing anything right now," he replied.

"Good," said Ryushin. "My study, please?"

Ichigo nodded, straightening up from the wall and following Ryushin inside. His grandfather led him into the study he had entered when he first came here, gesturing for him to take a seat. He did so, closing the door behind him. Ryushin settled into the seat behind his desk, frowning.

"I think you already know that I'm not happy with this current arrangement," he said. "...By blood, the three of you are my grandchildren. You all have just as much reiryoku as any member of Great Houses. Had the situation been different, you could have been my heir as easily as Masaryu."

Ichigo's frown deepened. "I told you before," he said. "I'm fine with the way things are. I don't need a title, and I don't want one. I'm not interested in challenging Masa for anything."

"Yes," said Ryushin. "That was never on the table. The elders would never allow it, and I can't do that to you or Masaryu. But…I do want to give you, and your descendants some sort of recognition. Something to show that you are linked to the Ankoujin Clan by blood. So, I have a proposal for you. I've spoken with the elders about this, and they…reluctantly agreed."

Ryushin fell silent for a moment, gauging Ichigo's reaction.

"I'm listening…" he said.

Ryushin nodded. "Do you know what a branch family is, Ichigo?"

Ichigo thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "No," he said. "Should I?"

"A branch family is a minor noble house, usually linked by ties of blood or service to one of the Great Noble Houses. They are nobility in their own right, but they are bound to the noble house they serve, and owe them special loyalty. In return, the main family offers them the protection and status of their name, when need be. The Fon family and the Shihouin Clan are examples of such a relationship."

Ryushin looked over the table at him. "I propose that the Kurosaki family be made into a branch family of the Ankoujin Clan by virtue of blood, with the portion of our estates that should have gone to your father transferred over to it. The creation of an entirely new noble family, officially and publicly under the Ankoujin Clan's protection."

"You can do that?" asked Ichigo, surprised. He'd always thought the noble families were ancient.

"Of course," said Ryushin with a shrug. "They all have to start somewhere. The Great Houses are old as dirt, but a lot of the minor nobility can trace their origins to things like this, although they've since gained enough status to stand on their own. The Ukitakes and the Kuchikis have some history, the Kyourakus and the Shibas—the Kiras were actually one of ours, I think…way back when. It's been a while since the last minor family was created, but I think I have enough clout to get it done."

Ichigo stared at Ryushin for a moment. He could tell that there was more to the story. "And in return?" he asked.

"The same thing asked of all branch families," said Ryushin. "Service and loyalty to the head, protection of the heir, and so on and so forth. No more than what the Kuchiki Clan expects of Rukia-san."

"Shouldn't you be talking to my old man?" asked Ichigo.

Ryushin shook his head. "Isshin is formally disowned," he said. "There is no way the council would allow it. But they're willing to make an exception for you."

His mind reeled with what Ryushin was implying. For a moment, he felt numb.

"You're saying…" he said.

"I'm saying that _you_, not your father, would be this family's first head," he said.

Ichigo stared.

"I—," he began, then paused, shaking his head. "I—wait a minute! What the hell? I can't do that!"

Ryushin watched him, completely unfazed by his outburst. He raised a hand up, a placating gesture. "…I'm not asking you for your decision right now," he said. "And I'm not going to force anything on you. I want you to think on it and think on it seriously. Go home. Speak to your sisters. Ask Rukia-san for her opinion. Do what you have to. But don't take too long. I'm not young, and I'd like to see this matter settled before Seishin succeeds me."

He frowned, clasping his hands together on top of the desk. "I think…" he said. "…I think from now until the twins' graduation should be ample time. Give me a decision by then."

Five months, he thought to himself, doing the math in his head. The soutaicho had given him a year to decide on his captaincy. But if he couldn't decide in five months, he probably wouldn't be able to decide at all. He nodded once, excusing himself and leaving the room. He walked quickly out of the manor, leaving Yuzu and Masaryu behind.

He needed some air, and he needed to get out of Seireitei for a minute. Heck, he needed to get out of _Soul Society _for a minute.

He took a deep breath, then made his way over to the Senkaimon.

* * *

><p>Karin sank down onto the ground with a tired sigh, her zanpakuto clutched loosely in her hand. The grassy field around them was covered in shards of ice, sticking out of the ground as if a freak snowstorm had just swept through. In front of her, Toshiro sheathed Hyorinmaru, a frown on his face.<p>

"That's enough for now," he said. "You're still healing."

"I could have gone further," said Karin, leaning back and running a hand through her hair. She didn't argue against it though. Toshiro frowned, turning to study her. Karin cracked an eye open, looking over at him.

"What?" she finally asked.

He shook his head. "It's nothing," he said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm feeling fine," said Karin, drawing her knees up close to herself. She accepted the bottle of water that Toshiro handed to her, unscrewing the cap and taking a long sip. "A little stiff, but that's not a big deal."

"Not physically," said Toshiro. "Are you alright with _this_? You and Yuzu."

Karin frowned, her eyes fixing on a single patch of grass. She took another sip of water. She really couldn't put a name to what she had been feeling lately. She had gone from being the first (because she still maintained that her zanpakuto had formed before Masaryu's) person in their little group of three to manifest a zanpakuto to being the last person to achieve shikai. She had never really considered herself strong—at least she didn't think she did. Sure, she considered herself as a better fighter than most, but that was just confidence talking. She had never really voiced the thought out loud—the small thought in the back of her mind that echoed what Toshiro had told her in the beginning, that she could be as strong as Ichigo…

She'd never believed it. So why did she feel so powerless now?

Why was she jealous of _Yuzu_?

"I'm fine…" she said, finally, putting the cap back onto the bottle and setting it down. "It's just…"

Toshiro frowned and came to stand in front of her, silently waiting for her to continue. She looked up at him, and when she realized he wasn't going to let this go, she sighed, going on. "…I've always been stronger," she finally said. "I've always protected Yuzu…from bullies, from Hollows…But back there…"

She shrugged, not giving voice to the thought. Absently, she rubbed at her leg. It still ached occasionally, although the injury had been mostly healed. Toshiro still didn't speak, instead slowly sitting down next to her.

"…I just spent a lot of time thinking, that's all," said Karin. "Why did she achieve shikai and not me? I was in danger then too. I wanted to protect someone too. Everything about our situations was the same, except she ended up protecting me."

She frowned, staring off at a point in the distance. "…I don't know how I feel about that," she finally said. "When I was down on the ground, I asked the damn thing to give me its name. I practically begged it…" She hated the way her voice shook just a bit there. "…But nothing," she said. "We could have both been killed there, so why didn't it tell me anything?"

"Maybe…" said Toshiro quietly. "Maybe it wanted you to think about this."

Karin looked up at him, her eyes wide, but Toshiro wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was looking off at something in the distance, his green eyes set in a serious expression.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Toshiro shook his head. "…Zanpakuto, particularly powerful ones, have been known to set tests for their wielders. Something to prove them worthy. I've noticed this, but you and Yuzu kind of are…inverses of each other. With Yuzu…she's always seen herself as weak, so it was hard for her to find that strength in herself. I think her zanpakuto wanted to bring out that confidence. But you've always seen yourself as strong…"

"So you're saying this thing wants me to feel _weak_?" asked Karin, scowling. "How does that make me 'worthy'?"

"It takes a strong person to admit weakness. You're both strong. It could be that Jungetsu wanted to see if Yuzu had the will to use that strength, and your zanpakuto wants to see if you have the will to control it," said Toshiro, his frown deepening. "Anyway…it was just a thought."

Karin sighed, shaking her head. "I don't like it, whatever it is," she said, resting her hand lightly on the ground. The two of them fell silent for a moment. Toshiro looked over at her, a curious expression on his face as she kept her eyes fixed on the ground. After a moment of thought, he hesitantly moved his hand, letting it cover hers loosely.

Karin looked up at him, a questioning expression on her face. He wasn't looking at her then, though. He was looking somewhere off to the side, a slight flush evident on his face. His hand was warmer than she expected. She'd always thought it would be cold, in those private moments when she thought about things like that. The hand of someone who controlled ice.

But it was warm. And for some reason, it made her feel warm too, despite the chill that was fast setting in…

"What is this, anyway?" she asked. She spoke without thinking, as she always did, although she wished she had thought a little more about this as he looked up, a frown on his face. Her own face heated up, and she looked away.

"What is what?" he asked.

"_This_," said Karin, gesturing between the two of them. "This…this _thing_, whatever this is. What are we?" She would say they were friends. Friends hung out all the time. Friends sparred. Friends played soccer together. Friends hugged. Friends went with each other to festivals. Friends protected each other and worried about each other.

But friends didn't get this confused over their own feelings, did they…? Friends didn't hold hands like this…or think about how warm the other person's hands were.

"Shinigami?" offered Toshiro.

"Idiot," snarled Karin, looking over at him. "You know what I mean."

Toshiro met her eyes, his expression curious, and she paused. He was so close to her then. Had they ever stood this close to each other before? She was sure they must have—they'd sparred a bit in the past, they'd played soccer, he'd looked over her injuries once or twice…heck, there was even that one hug.

But why was this time different? Why was her heart beating so fast…why were his eyes the only thing that she could see?

"…I know what you mean," he said, and his voice made Karin remember that they were still talking. It broke the spell for the moment, bringing her back to her senses.

_What was that…? _she thought, her eyes wide.

Toshiro didn't seem to notice. He went on. "…But is it something we really need to define at this point?" His hand tightened around hers for just a moment, his eyes becoming a little more thoughtful. "It is what it is." His grip on her loosened, and he frowned slightly at her, wanting to see what she would say.

"Yeah…" said Karin after a while. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

Toshiro nodded at her, then turned away. Karin sat beside him for a while, enjoying the quiet. He was right. What was she worried about? What did it matter whether they were friends or something more? All that mattered was that she enjoyed spending quiet moments with him like this…

"It's getting late," said Toshiro after a while. He turned towards her. "I'll walk you back."

"Aa," said Karin in response. He stood up, helping her to her feet. They began to make their way back to the Academy.

He didn't let go of her hand.

"…Thank you," said Karin, when they passed through the Academy gates. Normally, Toshiro left her out here, but this time he walked right past them, heading inside towards the dorms. Karin didn't comment on this, instead following him. It had been silent for so long that Toshiro almost didn't realize he was speaking. He looked over at her, but she had her eyes on the ground, a frown on her face that made it seem like the words were almost painful to her.

"For?" he asked.

"…For coming out there," she replied. "To save us. Thank you."

Toshiro sighed, looking away.

"You don't need to thank me," he said. "I wouldn't have done anything else."

_I was scared. I thought I would lose you. _

The words went unspoken. But she had known him ten years at this point, since she was twelve. She heard them.

"…I don't like needing protection," she said.

"I know," replied Toshiro, simply.

"But for what it's worth…" Karin stopped walking, looking over at him. He turned to her, a questioning look on his face. "…I'm glad you have my back."

He looked up at her then, fixing her with his eyes. His eyes…dammit, when had they gotten so…so brilliantly _green_? And suddenly, suddenly she was so much more _aware_. She was aware of how warm his hand was as it covered hers, aware of a tingling feeling that spread over her skin as he moved his fingers slightly. Aware that the air was cold, cold enough for her to wish for warmth but not cold enough to distract her from him. She was aware that her heart was beating quickly in her chest, that all the blood was rushing to her face.

And she was aware of just how close they were. Just a little closer…

Her eyes trailed down from his eyes to his lips for a moment. Her mouth went dry. Karin had never kissed anyone before—had never wanted to. But in that moment, she wished he would come a little closer. Just a little bit…

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _

The angry beeping sound tore through the air, shaking her out of her thoughts. Toshiro's eyes widened and he stepped back, releasing her. His hand dove into his robes, pulling out a phone. He flipped it open, staring at the screen for a moment as if the words didn't make sense to him. Then he sighed, flipping it closed and putting it away.

"Matsumoto…" he said in explanation. "I have to—."

"I know," interrupted Karin. "Uh...so…night."

He nodded once, still staring at her. "Aa…" he said. "…Good night."

Karin watched him go, the black number ten on his white haori seeming to stand out against the rapidly darkening sky. She took a deep breath as he disappeared past the gates, exhaling quickly. She covered her mouth with her hand, her heart still beating quickly.

_What the hell was that? _

Karin took another deep breath, then turned away and walked back towards the dorms. Her mind was a jumble of confused emotions. What would have happened had Matsumoto not called? Would they really have kissed? Would something else have interrupted it?

Was she glad that Matsumoto had interrupted, or disappointed?

She couldn't answer that question.

Her eyes moved over the façade of the women's dormitory, counting the rooms on the second floor. A light was on in Yuzu's window…

She needed to talk to someone.

That in mind, Karin entered the building in search of her twin.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	29. The choices we make

**A/N:** You get another update today, because I'm working in a lab doing titrations, and this is how I pass the time while I wait for the machine to finish.

So, today I took out a piece of paper and outlined everything I still wanted to do for Phases before I ended it. I divided the outline into chapters, and wrote out what I wanted to do for each chapter. This is something I've never done for this fic, since I've kind of been winging it, but I wanted to get a conclusive ending. That said…I have to announce that the countdown has begun.

The last chapter of Phases will be **CHAPTER 38. **So as of this chapter, there are **ten **more chapters to go before the story ends.

About aging, I've really given up trying to discover whatever aging system is canon for Soul Society. I'm going with the theory that it varies based on reiatsu (which is why Yamamoto can be incredibly old and still alive, while Rukia can be 150-ish and look 15 despite being a Kuchiki for 40 years…etc.) and that children age faster (so you don't have a fussy infant for 15 years). Just imagine the twins as looking 15 or 16 (same age as Ichigo and the gang in the first episodes of Bleach) with Ichigo looking older by about a year or two (since his aging in this story slowed down when he became a shinigami). Everyone else looks the same except for Toshiro and Yachiru who have aged slightly. Toshiro and Karin look about the same age. Yachiru is starting to drift into the pre-teen stage.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 29: The choices we make<strong>

* * *

><p>The light was on in Yuzu's window, but Karin knocked anyway, just in case she might have miscounted or Yuzu didn't want to be disturbed. There was a pause, and Karin heard the sound of rustling paper coming from inside.<p>

"Come in," came Yuzu's voice.

She opened the sliding door, stepping into the room. Yuzu was sitting at her desk, a sheaf of papers next to her. Karin recognized it as a draft of a short story, and wondered whether or not she would be sending it to Seireitei Communication when it was finished. She set down her pen, turning around to face her sister. "Karin-chan?" she asked, her face falling when she took note of Karin's expression. "…What's wrong?"

"Can we talk?" asked Karin.

"Sure," said Yuzu, getting out of her seat. Karin sat cross-legged on the floor, and Yuzu followed, sitting down on the ground in front of her. There was a concerned frown on her sister's face. Karin sighed, wondering how she was going to go about this.

"It's about Toshiro…" she began.

Yuzu's eyes widened slightly. "Are you and Hitsugaya-kun fighting again?" she asked.

"No, it's not that," said Karin, scowling. "Everything's fine, except—." She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. "—dammit—he—I—."

"…Karin-chan…?" asked Yuzu.

Karin shook her head. "I think he just tried to kiss me," she blurted out.

Yuzu stared. Karin fell silent, lowering her eyes to the floor. A blush spread slowly across her face.

"…He…" began Yuzu, incredulously. "_Hitsugaya-kun _did?"

"Well, he might have," admitted Karin, not looking up at Yuzu. Her blush grew. "Or maybe I tried to kiss him. I don't know. Either way—the thought was there and somebody was gonna kiss somebody…" She trailed off, mumbling to herself.

"And?" prompted Yuzu, still surprised. "What happened?"

"Nothing," said Karin quickly. "Nothing happened. Matsumoto called, and…" She trailed off, waving her hand in the air dismissively. "I mean, that's crazy, right?" She laughed nervously. "We must have sparred a little too hard or something—someone got hit in the head. It's completely insane. Me and Toshiro?" She tried to laugh again, and then stopped, noticing the look on Yuzu's face. Karin paused, staring at her twin. Yuzu looked surprised, but she didn't have the completely taken aback look that Karin expected from her. Instead, her expression was beginning to soften as she watched Karin.

"It…it _is _insane, isn't it?" she asked. "…I mean, there's no way…me and Toshiro…"

Yuzu said nothing. Karin stared at her for a few more moments.

"Oh, hell," said Karin. "Don't tell me. It's Rukia-nee and Ichi-nii all over again, isn't it? Everyone's been talking about it?"

This time, a guilty look crossed Yuzu's face. She glanced to the side. "Well…" she began. "I wouldn't say everyone…"

"How long?" demanded Karin.

Yuzu swallowed, shifting uncomfortably. "Er…well…Rangiku-san mentioned something like that to me…before we even enrolled at the Academy…"

Karin swore. "Dammit," she said. "We're just friends. We _are_…just friends…aren't we?"

"…Um…well…considering what you just told me…I'd say…maybe not?" said Yuzu, shrugging slightly.

"I don't…I don't like him like that," said Karin. "At least…I don't think I do." She shook her head, looking up at Yuzu. "Hey. You liked that one guy didn't you? How did that feel?"

Yuzu's eyes widened slightly. "Karin-chan, that was in _middle school_!" she said. "That was ages ago!"

"Better than what I've got," said Karin with a frown.

"Well, I don't know. That was just a little crush," said Yuzu. "How does Hitsugaya-kun make you feel?"

"We're friends," said Karin, frowning.

"And…?" prompted Yuzu.

Karin sighed, resting her hand on her neck and staring at the corner of the room. "…He pisses me off sometimes, acting tough and shit. I hate that he's stronger than me. I don't like that he keeps running off to protect me, like I need it."

"…But?" asked Yuzu.

"But…" Karin sighed again. "But…when we talk or hang out, or do whatever—." She shook her head, trying a different approach. She hated talking about her feelings. It was easy to talk about how she was angry at someone, or what she didn't like about them, but this was something completely different. It made her feel weak.

She _hated _that feeling.

"…Nobody really gets it," she said. "…Gets me, I mean. There's not a lot of people out there that really understand me. You get it, but we're twins. Ichi-nii gets it. Toshiro…" She stared down at the ground, her expression growing slightly thoughtful. "…When we talk, I feel like I've known him forever. Like…like I can say or do anything, and he'll still come back. Sometimes it's like I'm talking to you. Even when we fight, it's like…" She paused. "…It just clicks, and it's easy. It's always easy to talk to him. But whenever stuff like this crops up…"

"…Do you like him?" asked Yuzu.

"I don't know," said Karin, helplessly. "I don't know what it's like to _like _anyone. But back there…It felt right. It just…if Matsumoto hadn't called…I might have—but then it would be even worse than right now, right? It'd be awkward…so it's better like this…"

"…I think you need to think about this," said Yuzu. "How you feel about Hitsugaya-kun…and where you want this to go…"

"Well, what do _you _think?" asked Karin.

"I think he's good for you," said Yuzu. "I think Ichi-nii thinks the same thing. But we're not you…so we can't figure this out for you."

"Damn it…" muttered Karin, shaking her head and staring down at the ground. "As if one confusing thing weren't enough…"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually, Karin-chan…" said Yuzu with a concerned frown.

Karin shook her head. "Whatever," she said. "It's not important. Anyway…" She sighed, putting a grin on her face as she tried to change the subject. "So…what are you writing?"

* * *

><p>It was late at night, and the grounds of the high school were empty, covered in a fine layer of snow. Ichigo stood on the rooftop, staring down at the courtyard. It was hard to believe it had already been ten years. Ishida, Chad, and Inoue had all left. They'd graduated, gone on to college or to wherever life had taken them. They looked older now, the last time he'd seen them, but of course they would. They were twenty-five now.<p>

…So was he, technically, he supposed. But he hadn't aged much in that time. He wondered if any of the other shinigami ever felt like the living world was leaving them behind. Probably not…none of them really had his background.

He felt her before he saw her, but he'd been getting better at sensing reiatsu as of late. She didn't make a sound as she appeared behind him, her sandaled feet touching the ground with little more than a whisper.

"…I had a feeling you'd be out here…" she said, walking over to stand next to him. Her arms were folded. Like him, she didn't seem to be affected by the cold. She probably felt it less than he did, considering her zanpakuto used ice.

"Hey, Rukia," he said, glancing over at her.

"Hey yourself," said Rukia, rolling her eyes. "…Isshin-san told me about Ankoujin-dono's plan."

"He knew about it too?" asked Ichigo.

"Apparently," she replied.

He sighed. "Does everyone know something they're not telling me?" he asked.

"Probably," replied Rukia, her expression serious. There were still so many secrets in Soul Society, things that neither of them knew about.

He frowned, looking over at her. "This your way of making me feel better?" he asked.

"Is it working?" asked Rukia.

"…A little."

"Then, yes."

He rolled his eyes. "God," he said. "Impossible midget."

"Baka strawberry."

Ichigo sighed, but didn't reply. Rukia looked through the fence at the school grounds, a faint smile on her face. "This brings back memories," she said. "Remember when we used to eat up here?"

"I remember you couldn't use a juice box," said Ichigo, with a slight smirk.

"And I could write novels about how long it took you to learn your way around Seireitei, but I'm not doing that, am I?" asked Rukia, with a smile that was exaggeratedly sweet.

"Good point," said Ichigo.

The two of them fell silent for a moment, and then Ichigo spoke. "I don't need a title," he said. "And I don't want one. Not if it's just so something can be official. Nobody needs to know who I'm related to, and I don't need a piece of paper telling me to protect my family. I'd do it on my own."

"So say no," said Rukia. "No one's forcing you to do anything."

"…I keep thinking of Yuzu and Karin," said Ichigo, shrugging. "Is this going to be better for them? Do they want this? Are people going to stop picking on them? So on and so on…"

"Did you ask them?" asked Rukia.

"…No," admitted Ichigo.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you want me to just read their minds and tell you their feelings off the top of my head?"

Ichigo scowled at her. "You know what I meant."

"I know," said Rukia. "And I know what you're thinking about." She sighed, her expression growing slightly far off as she looked out at the school yard. "It'll be different. It won't be the same as it was with me. You won't have to deal with all the drama and the politics and the power play that comes with the Great Houses. You won't even have to change your attitude as much most of the time—look at Kyoraku-taicho. They're not all as formal as Nii-sama is…Kaien wasn't."

"I'm not worried about having to change the way I act," said Ichigo, frowning at her. "If the soutaicho can't do much about it, that old man definitely can't change me."

"So what is it?" asked Rukia. "I'm not trying to pressure you into anything. I just want to know where you stand."

Ichigo sighed, folding his arms. "I don't really want all that attention," he said. "That was it at first, and then I got to thinking…if I do this, it's a final thing, isn't it? It wouldn't just be me, Yuzu, and Karin. It would be everyone after that. So what if sometime down the line someone decides they hate being tied to the Ankoujin? Things like that."

"_That's _what you're worried about?" asked Rukia, incredulously. Ichigo looked over at her. "Ichigo, if you refuse, one of your descendants could hate that you _didn't _take this opportunity. You can't base your decision on what future generations might say. That's just insane, especially considering all of the other things with long-lasting consequences that you've done for Soul Society."

He blinked at her. Now that she mentioned it, it did feel kind of stupid. "Yeah…" he said. "Yeah, I guess it was kind of silly."

"Decide based on your own feelings. Yours, Yuzu's, and Karin's, and don't let anyone tell you anything different, because when it comes down to it, nobody else is involved in this but you."

There was something in the way she said it…the way her expression grew far off, that made him think she might have been speaking from experience. He frowned at her.

"Was it like that for you?" he asked. "When Byakuya adopted you?"

Rukia hesitated for a moment before she responded. "…When Nii-sama made his offer, I was in shock…" she said. "I was still in the Academy…I didn't know what to think. So I asked Renji for his opinion…"

"You took important life advice from _Renji_?" interrupted Ichigo, with a snicker.

"Shut up," said Rukia. "I'm being serious. I asked Renji for his opinion…and he acted all excited for me, telling me that I definitely needed to take this opportunity or it wouldn't come back again. I wasn't sure about it myself, but when I heard that from him, I thought that he was right, that I would be stupid not to accept this generous offer."

Ichigo frowned, staring at Rukia. "You regret it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not anymore," she said. "But when I met you, I'd been a Kuchiki for forty years. And in that time…I never felt like I belonged in that family. I was always walking on eggshells around Nii-sama, trying not to anger him in any way…trying to measure up. And then Kaien died…"

Her eyes grew even farther away. "Yes…I did regret it. For a long time."

"And now?" asked Ichigo.

She shook her head. "…I don't regret it anymore," she said. "I can't think of how my life would be if I had never become Kuchiki Rukia. I would probably have risen through the ranks sooner…I wouldn't have spent forty years feeling out of place and outclassed. Would I have entered the Thirteenth Division and gained such respect for Ukitake-taichou? Probably not? Would I have made vice-captain? Probably not. It was the knowledge that Nii-sama was watching that made me push myself so much."

"I probably wouldn't have met you either…" she added, looking at Ichigo out of the corner of her eye. "…I wouldn't have been set for execution. And you would never have become a shinigami, which means Aizen would probably have won…Maybe."

She shook her head, as if she was trying to chase the thoughts away. "I'd have no brother," she said. "I thought that would be a blessing once. Now…" Rukia trailed off.

Ichigo frowned. "Y'know…" he said. "The first time I met Byakuya, I couldn't believe he was your brother. When I heard you were adopted, it suddenly made much more sense."

"Now?" asked Rukia.

He chuckled softly. "Now?" he asked, smiling slightly. "Sometimes when I run into the two of you, and you're walking down the street heading back to your manor, talking about whatever's going on in your Divisions or what the soutaicho said or things like that, I forget you two weren't born siblings. And sometimes you'll give me _that _look…"

Rukia glared at him. "What look?" she asked. "I don't give looks."

"_That_ look," said Ichigo, pointing at her face. "That one right there. That 'you are a new breed of idiot' look that you picked up right from Byakuya. It just…I have to remind myself now that you two aren't really related, that's all."

"I see…" said Rukia quietly. She frowned, as if considering this. "It's not been easy…" she finally said. "But I think…I think we're more like family now."

"Yeah," said Ichigo with a nod.

"But…anyway," said Rukia, turning towards him. "Just promise me. Whatever decision you make, you'll make it on your own."

Ichigo frowned, looking over at her. "Alright," he said, nodding.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>Yuzu raised her hand quickly, her hand catching her opponent's wrist and moving the strike aside. Her eyes widened sharply as another strike came in with the other hand, and she stepped back, blocking it and pushing it aside with her hand. A third strike came, one that she was unprepared for, and she winced, bracing herself for impact.<p>

The hand stopped a hair's breadth from her head, and Yuzu let out the breath she was holding. She looked up, looking straight into cool, dispassionate gray eyes.

"Stop," said Byakuya, taking a step back. There was a slight reprimand in his tone, and it stung. Yuzu lowered her hands, taking a deep breath and pushing her hair out of her face. The Kuchiki head studied her, his frown deepening as if he was considering how to take the lesson from here.

It was two days before her scheduled match with Karin, and while Yuzu had never been good at hakuda, she had to admit that she was a little more distracted than usual today. She had trained with Jungetsu, but the zanpakuto was still new to her, and the fact that her spirit was mute made jinzen difficult. She had to actually enter the inner world to speak with Jungetsu, not just hear her voice. Not only would she be fighting Karin, her zanjutsu exam would be the first qualifying exam she would take. She knew from watching the other exams that high-ranking shinigami were often present, already considering who they could add to their ranks. There was a lot of pressure on the graduating students now, and tempers were growing short.

The two of them were standing inside the Kuchiki Manor, in a large empty room designed for this purpose. Normally, their training sessions took place in the garden, but winter had well and truly set in by now, and the weather was rather unpleasant.

Yuzu endured the scrutiny, keeping her eyes on the ground. She fought down the urge to stammer an apology. Byakuya wasn't a _harsh _teacher, per se, but he did have high standards and could be rather exacting. He probably noticed that she was distracted by now.

"I want you to attack me continuously," he said. "Until I tell you to stop. Do you understand?"

She nodded once, looking up at him.

"Proceed," he said.

Yuzu took a deep breath, then rushed at him, raising her hand and attempting a strike. He took a smooth step back, swatting it aside. She raised her other hand, striking this time at his chin. Byakuya tilted his head slightly to the side in one graceful movement, his hand sweeping out from under her wrist and pushing her hand up. She frowned in concentration, striking again with more speed and power this time. The strike was aimed to the side of the head, and he took another step back, swatting her hand away. She continued to strike at him a few more times, and each time, he stepped back, smoothly dodging or blocking the strike.

Finally, he told her to stop. She did so, breathing hard from the exertion. They were standing near the dojo wall now, Byakuya with his back nearly against it. Her hand was outstretched, resting on his wrist where he had blocked her final attack. By now, she was winded, but Byakuya hadn't even broken a sweat.

"…What…" he said, after some time, "…is wrong with my approach?"

It took Yuzu a moment to realize he was asking her. She frowned in confusion, looking up at him. There was _nothing _wrong with his approach. He had blocked every attack as easily as if he were swatting away a toddler's punches. He didn't even look _tired_.

And then she looked up and saw the wall behind him, and realized what he was asking.

"You're…" she began, taking a deep breath. "You're on the defensive. You're blocking every attack, but you're not breaking the attack, and the attacker is forcing you to give up ground. You could…" She hesitated for a moment, realizing now what he was trying to tell her.

His brow rose. "Go on," he prompted.

"…If you were…less skilled," she said, "You could slip and let an attack in, as I did…or you could get cornered, and have nowhere else to go…You've…" Another breath. "…You've essentially given up your control."

"Good," said Byakuya. "This…" He gestured at her hand, where it had connected with his wrist. "is a blocking game. It is a contest of strength. Control in this situation falls to the attacker." He frowned, looking down at her. "…How do you break the attack?" he asked.

She looked up at him mutely, a frown on her face. After a while, she shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted.

Byakuya nodded, motioning for her to step back. She did so, taking a deep breath.

"Attack me now," he said.

Yuzu took a deep breath and nodded, rushing forward with her hand upraised. She aimed the strike at his head, her hand moving towards it. This time, as he stepped aside and raised his hand up to meet hers, he caught her wrist with his palm facing towards himself, twisting his wrist around and leading the attack in. Yuzu's eyes widened as she felt herself pitch forward, losing her balance.

He took a step so that he was behind her, one hand going up to her shoulder as his elbow rested on the small of her back. Yuzu felt him move then, one quick continuous motion. She heard the rustle of cloth and felt him step away, and then in the next moment she was lying on the ground, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes. She braced her hands on either side of her to push herself up, but was stopped by Senbonzakura's blade at her throat.

Byakuya stood over her, his expression impassive as he held her at the end of his sword. She lay back, breathing quietly.

"Is there anything you can do from here?" asked Byakuya.

She shook her head. The question was rhetorical, she knew, but she answered it anyway.

"Kidou…if I were fast enough, but—."

"But I could end you before the incantation left your mouth."

He took a step back, sheathing his sword in one smooth motion. Yuzu got shakily to her feet. Byakuya frowned at her, half-turned away from her. "…You have a zanjutsu qualifying exam in two days, correct?"

She nodded once. "…Yes," she said.

"…Clearly, you should focus on zanjutsu at this time. We will resume this after your exam. Think on what I told you."

_The exam…_

For a moment, she had almost forgotten it.

"Hai…Kuchiki-taichou," she said. She watched as Byakuya walked away, taking a deep breath as a thought occurred to her. Would he take offense? She swallowed, gathering up her courage. It couldn't hurt to ask.

"…Ku-Kuchiki-taichou…" she said.

He stopped, glancing back at her. "Yes?"

"…Will—will you be present…at the exam…?"

Captains couldn't always make it, but representatives from almost all the divisions tended to show up during the qualifying exams of the highly-ranked classes. She had thought it was a reasonable question, but now she wasn't sure. He frowned at her.

"…Perhaps," he said simply.

She let out the breath she was holding, watching as he walked away.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Zanpakuto Notes<strong>

My theme for the –getsu family of zanpakuto was, rather simply, the moon. Zangetsu's spirit appears as a man in a cloak, so I equated that with the Western concept of the "man on the moon". In Japanese, the man on the moon is replaced by "the rabbit on the moon" (which is why Sailor Moon is named Usagi (rabbit), by the way), which was the inspiration for Karin's zanpakuto spirit. Finally, Jungetsu is based off of Princess Kaguya, the Japanese mythological princess who lives on the moon.

So we have Zangetsu, the man on the moon, Jungetsu, the lady on the moon, and the yet unknown boy with the rabbit, the rabbit on the moon.

There's another theme I used for their zanpakuto spirits, but that will be evident a little later on.

* * *

><p><strong>Byakuya's lesson notes<strong>

The fighting style being taught by Byakuya is based heavily off of the martial art I do-aikido. Different styles of aikido will tell you different things, but at its base form, aikido is the art of using the opponent's force against them. Most styles have the same principles—keeping and protecting your center, maintaining control of the situation, not wasting energy with big movements, neutralizing the opponent in a single move instead of getting involved in long, drawn-out exchanges…etc. The difference is that aikido doesn't generally teach attacks, so he isn't teaching her a pure form of anything really.

I don't pretend to be an expert since I've only been doing it for a year, but it seemed like good principles to introduce into the story. It's a good fighting style for Byakuya to teach, because it relies not on strength, but on posture, precision, and control—all things we know Byakuya has. It's also derived from sword work. The "blocking game" thing is actually something my teacher cautioned me about yesterday, and I had to include it in the story because it made so much sense, lol.


	30. Phases of the moon

**A/N:** Nine chapters left! And I'm still doing lab work, and I'm bored to tears doing it, so here you go. The reason why this story has the title it has. ^^

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 30: Phases of the moon<strong>

* * *

><p>It was a cold day for a battle.<p>

Yuzu stood inside the building, watching as people slowly began to gather in the stands. There were a lot of black robes out there today. They looked odd, mixed in with the usual white, blue, and red of the Academy students. She would be joining them soon, she realized. In a few months, one way or another…she would be graduated.

She swallowed, resting her hand on Jungetsu's hilt. In all honesty, she felt slightly sick. She hated the idea of a combat test, but she would rather be fighting anyone else in Class 1 today. Anyone but Karin. This whole situation felt wrong…

But she couldn't falter now. Not when they were so close. She caught a glimpse of a few white haoris making their way into the audience…

The world was watching.

_**Are you resolved? **_

The words appeared on the inside of her mind, and Yuzu felt Jungetsu's question through her link to her zanpakuto. She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes. The words changed, fading like smoke as her own words replaced it.

_Yes. _

"Get out there, Kurosaki," said Furutani-sensei with a frown, glancing over at her.

"…Hai, sensei," she said, nodding as the doors opened.

* * *

><p>The stands were packed today, despite the cold weather. Ichigo scowled, shooting the spectators dark looks as he, Rukia, and Renji made their way down to the front row. He had attended a few of the examinations before, and they were usually well-attended, but they were hardly ever this packed. Then again, this particular match-up had caused a stir when it started making its rounds around the Divisions. Two Kurosakis in one go…<p>

"You alright there, Ichigo?" asked Renji, looking over at him as they made their way to a seat. "You're looking a little green."

Ichigo glared at him. "Wouldn't you be?" he asked. It was an older brother's nightmare. Not only would his sisters be out there with swords fighting, they would be fighting _each other_. His mind was filled with all the things that could possibly go wrong.

"Relax, Ichigo," said Rukia, glancing over at him. She put her hand over his discreetly. They were standing close enough together that no one would be able to tell. "They'll be fine. The teachers will call the match if it looks like someone's about to get hurt."

"Besides, at least you only have to watch them once, right?" asked Renji with a grin.

The bench at the front row was taken up by two Academy students—a girl and a boy. As Ichigo neared them, he realized that the boy was Masaryu, and the girl was Yuzu's best friend—Iwase Kohaku. Masa's match had been last week, and he had put on a stellar performance. His opponent had managed to leave a cut on him, though, one that had been quickly healed by members of the Fourth Division. His match had drawn about as much attention as this one, if not slightly more. Everyone wanted to come out and see the Ankoujin heir in action. Iwase's match was tomorrow afternoon, and she was looking more than a little nervous about the prospect.

Masaryu jumped up as he saw them approach, offering them a polite bow. Ichigo noticed that it was directed more at Rukia than at anyone else, although he did defer to their rank. "Ichigo-san, Abarai-taichou, Rukia-sama, good morning," he said.

Rukia returned the polite bow, lowering herself to a slightly higher level than Masaryu had. "Good morning, Masaryu, Iwase-san" she said. "Are these seats free?"

"They are," said Masaryu.

"Can we sit with you?"

"Of course."

Ichigo watched the pleasantries with a frown on his face, settling down on the edge of the bench. He folded his arms, studying the field. He had seen dozens of these matches since becoming a captain, and he knew that nobody ever got seriously hurt in them, but he was finding it difficult to relax for this one. Knowing that it would be Yuzu and Karin out there just made it worse.

"Is this seat taken?" asked a voice from next to him.

Ichigo looked up. Toshiro stood over him, a frown on his face. His arms were folded, and he was looking at the field with an almost identical expression. Rangiku stood next to him, waving at Ichigo and the others.

"Nah," said Ichigo, moving over so the two of them could sit. "Help yourself." Toshiro did so, frowning. Rangiku sat in the row behind them, sitting directly behind Rukia. Ichigo saw her lean over and ask her fellow vice-captain a question. When he saw Rukia frown and shake her head, Ichigo realized that it was about Ukitake. The Thirteenth Division captain was having another of his bad weeks, and coming out to watch a fight in the cold wasn't exactly advisable.

As the Toshiro sat down, Ichigo turned, getting a good look at who had actually turned up to see the fight. There were a lot more people than he realized. Not just warm bodies taking up seats, but people that _mattered_. He caught sight of Sasakibe-fukutaicho in the stands across from him. Unohana and Isane sat together towards the middle of the stands, talking quietly with each other in low voices. Shuuhei was out too, somewhere towards the front. He scowled as he caught sight of Mayuri and Nemu, standing near the top of the stands and staring down at the field. Ikkaku and Yumichika sat near the front, while Yachiru perched on the railing, kicking her feet back and forth. Kyouraku-taicho's pink haori was almost impossible to miss. He sat at the top of the stands, exchanging a cup of sake with a dark-haired shinigami that Ichigo realized with some chagrin was his father. Seishin sat next to Isshin, standing out in deep red gi and hakama, and beside them, taking quietly with his uncle was…

Rukia jumped to her feet excitedly, putting her hand in the air. "Nii-sama!" she called. "Would you like to sit with us?"

Ichigo and Renji exchanged horrified glances as Byakuya turned away from Seishin and looked in their direction, shaking their heads. Rukia beamed up at her brother, not seeming to notice. Byakuya frowned, his eyes moving over the assembled group. He said something to Seishin and moved towards them purposefully.

Masaryu sprang to his feet again. "Kuchiki-sama," he greeted, bowing lower than he did for Rukia.

Byakuya returned the greeting by shifting forward in a way that was barely a bow. Ichigo sighed as the captain of the sixth sat in the row behind them, directly behind Renji. Renji immediately tensed.

"…Abarai," Byakuya said sternly.

Renji stiffened. "H-Hai, Kuchiki-taicho?" he asked.

"…Good to see you well."

Renji relaxed, exhaling audibly. "Hai, taicho," he said.

Ichigo glanced over at Byakuya, scowling. Rukia turned away, hiding a smile. Even though Renji was now a captain in his own right, his former captain still made him nervous sometimes. Rukia had told him once that Byakuya was probably doing this to him on purpose. The older Kuchiki had actually liked Renji, in his own way.

The doors opened, and all thoughts of Byakuya and Renji and Rukia left his head. He watched as Furutani-sensei walked out with Yuzu, coming to the center of the field. Karin walked in from the door opposite, standing in front of her sister. The voices in the crowd hushed to something barely more than a murmur. The first test was a kata exam, so Ichigo watched quietly as both Yuzu and Karin went into a set of synchronized movements, at Furutani-sensei's direction. A group of some of the other zanjutsu teachers scribbled notes down as they worked.

The kata test was over relatively quickly, and Ichigo found himself leaning forward in his seat slightly as Furutani stepped back, letting the twins face each other.

"Here they go…" said Renji from beside him.

Ichigo shook his head. "I can't watch this," he said. He couldn't look away either. Furutani drew his zanpakuto, raising it into the air. The twins bowed at each other, hands on their sides.

Then the zanjutsu teacher brought his sword down in a single line, and the battle was on.

* * *

><p>It was cold, but Karin almost didn't feel it. She stared across from her at her sister as Furutani stepped back, preparing to start the battle. Her heart beat quickly in her chest, about as fast as it had a few weeks ago with Toshiro. Yuzu was nervous too. Karin could tell. Yuzu's hands were shaking as she faced her.<p>

"Don't hold back," said Karin.

Yuzu nodded. "Hai," she said. "Do your best, Karin-chan."

They bowed at each other. The stands had gone completely quiet. Karin could feel everyone's eyes on them. She had seen them as she walked in—Ichigo, Masa, the pineapple, Byakuya, Toshiro…

Furutani dropped his sword. In that instant, all of the nervousness seemed to melt away, and the fight was on.

Karin drew her sword first, her zanpakuto coming free of its sheath. She rushed forward, bringing it down towards Yuzu. Yuzu drew Jungetsu in one quick motion, blocking the blow. She stepped back, adjusting her stance and making it more stable as Karin rushed in again. Yuzu sidestepped the blow this time, flipping her sword over so that the flat of her blade pushed Karin's sword down and out of the way. She stepped forward, thrusting Jungetsu at Karin's neck. The move was from the seventh kata, and Karin anticipated it. She jumped back, using her own blade to push Yuzu's away.

Yuzu recovered quickly, shifting her weight to her back foot. She raised her sword into the air, bringing it down in a simple forward cut. Karin twisted away from the blow, running forward and stabbing her sword at Yuzu's chest. Her sister moved aside, blocking her sword. They jumped back, springing apart from each other.

Karin shifted her sword's grip in her hand, rushing at Yuzu again. The younger Kurosaki stood still, keeping her blade in the ready stance and her eyes fixed on Karin. Karin let out a shout, swinging her sword down in a slashing move. Yuzu stepped back diagonally, pivoting out of the way and letting Karin fall right past her. Karin stumbled and recovered quickly, bringing her sword up and thrusting it at her. Yuzu hesitated for a moment, but stepped back, blocking Karin's sword with her own.

Karin looked at Yuzu over their crossed swords, frowning. Her sister was looking at her with the same resolute expression in her eyes, but something was wrong. The crowd was silent, watching the fight with a slightly disappointed air about them. They were murmuring amongst themselves, a strong current of anticipation running through the air. Karin stared at her sister, realizing what they wanted to see.

"Oi," she said, catching Yuzu's attention. "…Use shikai."

Yuzu's eyes widened. "What?" she asked. "I can't do that—."

"Yes, you can," said Karin, scowling. "Everyone's waiting to see it. This is your exam too."

"But you—."

"Damn it, Yuzu, don't worry about me," said Karin. "I'll manage. Just do it."

Yuzu glanced back at the crowd, then back at Karin. "Are you sure…?" she asked, biting her lip.

"I'm sure," said Karin. "You said you wouldn't hold back."

"Okay…" said Yuzu. She jumped back. Karin sprang back as well, preparing herself. She gripped her sword in both hands, her eyes narrowed. Her heart was pounding, adrenaline rushing through her body. She could feel the blade in her hands shaking as well, anticipating the fight.

…_Last chance to tell me your name, _she thought towards it.

_**Come on, Karin. You already have everything you need to figure it out. **_

That was a no then. She scowled. Yuzu straightened up, closing her eyes. She drew her sword up horizontally in front of her, resting her free palm on the flat of her blade.

"_Reflect_," she spoke, white light enveloping the sword. "_Jungetsu_."

Yuzu opened her eyes. The white light surrounded the sword in her hands, its shape changing into that of a fan. A white ribbon shot out from its hilt, wrapping around Yuzu from behind and forming into a second fan around her other hand. Yuzu's reiatsu fluctuated slightly, and pale blue blades formed at the edges of each fan, the light beginning to fade away.

She leaped forward, one fan pulled close to herself and the other outstretched as she rushed towards Karin.

Karin raised her sword, blocking the fan with a strike. The zanpakuto crashed into the solid reiatsu at the fan's edge, and Karin put her weight behind the sword, pushing back with a shout. Her own reiatsu flared up around her brightly, and Yuzu quickly jumped back, the slash tearing through the air and slamming down on the ground. Yuzu landed lightly on her feet, her eyes wide. She slammed the fan in her right hand shut, hooking the cloth that bound them around her arm and flinging it underhand at Karin as she jumped again.

The bladed fan rushed towards Karin like a thrown knife, the ribbon behind it continuing to extend. Karin stepped aside just in time, catching it with her blade and pushing it out of the air as she ran along the length of cord, flash stepping and bearing down on Yuzu from above.

Yuzu landed quickly on the ground, jumping back as Karin's sword came crashing down. She tugged on the white ribbon, her thrown fan recoiling back into her outstretched hand. Yuzu snapped the fan open, the fan's white fabric covering the lower half of her face as she looked over at Karin. Her eyes blazed, the reiatsu edge around the fans flaring up. Karin's eyes widened.

Her spun around, both fans outstretched. Two crescent-shaped blades of reiatsu sped towards her from each fan, one after another. She didn't call the attack by name, reducing its power, but there was no mistaking a Getsuga Tenshou. Karin sprang back, flipping over in the air as the first one moved under her, crashing into the stadium wall. The second rushed towards her as she landed on the ground. She jumped back again, avoiding it, but the Getsuga tore up the ground in front of her, sending rocks and dust flying out towards her. Karin raised her arm up to protect her face, closing her eyes. Yuzu charged in through the smoke, twisting her left arm around and slashing at her with one fan. Karin blocked the attack with her sword, jumping back again and getting out of the way.

Damn…what had she been _thinking_? She couldn't hold up against someone's shikai when her zanpakuto was still in its released state. If an attack by an Arrancar hadn't made the little snot give up his name, a zanjutsu examination certainly wouldn't. And now she was on the defensive.

The irony of the situation struck her, and she almost laughed. She was losing to _Yuzu_. God dammit, she was actually going to _lose _here, wasn't she? Well, if Toshiro was right and her zanpakuto wanted her to feel weak, she felt weak enough now.

_**You already have everything you need…**_said her zanpakuto spirit softly. _**It's a pity you won't take the time to think about it.**_

Take the time to think about it? What the hell was she supposed to think about?

Wait a minute.

Her eyes widened.

Toshiro.

"_You and Yuzu are inverses of each other…" _

She raised her sword to block Yuzu's attack, taking a step back and quickly shifting to block the second fan. She jumped back, gritting her teeth as a flick of her sister's wrist sent the fan's bladed edge across her arm. It was a shallow cut, but it drew blood. Yuzu frowned in concern as Karin landed crouched on the ground, one hand going up to the injury. Yuzu stood over her, her fans at her side, forming two perfect half-circles.

White…

One white circle…

Karin's heartbeat quickened, her mind going back to what she had seen of her zanpakuto's inner world. It had been dark and mountainous…all black and gray…and almost…_cratered_?

Furutani moved to raise his sword and call the fight. Karin shot him a glare.

"Don't call it!" she said sharply, getting to her feet. "Don't you fucking call it. I'm not done."

Furutani scowled at her, but he was once of the Eleventh Division. He nodded, lowering his blade.

"Karin-chan…?" asked Yuzu, frowning as she stepped forward.

Jungetsu was white. One white circle. The full moon…

And she and Yuzu were inverses of each other…

Her inner world was black.

The new moon. The dark moon. The hidden moon. The…

Her eyes widened, traveling up to the tops of the stands. The testing grounds had banners from each division, but it wasn't just the Gotei 13 that was represented. There was also a banner from the Kido Corps, and a banner from the Onmitsukido.

Onmitsukido. On…

Her zanpakuto spirit's words came back to her from when she had asked him for a hint, and Karin almost laughed.

"_It's a secret…" _

_**Call me. Call me and I'll obey. **_

She saw him clearly now in her mind's eye, a young boy half hidden by the darkness, with pale skin and black hair, his hand closed around a stuffed black rabbit. Karin raised her sword and grinned, reiatsu flooding the air as she realized what it was asking.

"…_Reveal yourself…" _she commanded, pointing her sword at Yuzu.

"_Ongetsu_."

Darkness engulfed her blade.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: <strong>

**Ongetsu (****隠月****) – **Ongetsu is Karin's zanpakuto. Its name literally means "secret moon" or "hidden moon". It represents the new moon, while Jungetsu represents the full moon.


	31. Black and white

**A/N:** Eight chapters to go. Today should hopefully be the last day of the boring part of my lab work, so we'll see what happens. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I hope you like how I wrote out Ongetsu's form.

Neither Karin nor Yuzu are calling their attacks because not calling the attacks decreases the power, and this is still just a spar, not an all-out fight. Also, for the person asking about techniques, Ongetsu is more of a melee-type zanpakuto. Like Zangetsu, it doesn't have very many techniques besides Getsuga Tenshou. Jungetsu leans slightly towards being a kidou-type, so it does have other techniques that will reveal themselves later on.

For some reason, I had "This Little Girl" by Cady Groves in my head while writing the fight. Just the chorus of it. I don't know if that influenced it any, lol. "Every girl is capable of murder, if you hurt her. Watch out you, don't push me any further. This little girl is capable of murder…"

Major HitsuKarin scene coming up in the next chapter. Man, this outline thing is useful. I should do it more often, lol.

**Audience participation opportunity here: **I haven't fully decided what decision I want Ichigo to make. This was a little bit of added flavor here because Ryushin would want to recognize his grandchildren in some way. Sooo…help me decide. If he says yes, I have this whole awesome ceremony scene planned out. If he says no, I have this whole awesome Ichigo-style speech also planned out. Ichigo will make his choice in two chapters, so everyone start the convincing. ^^

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

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><p><strong>Chapter 31: Black and white<strong>

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><p>"Reveal yourself," Karin commanded, pointing her sword at Yuzu. "Ongetsu."<p>

Darkness engulfed her blade, thick shadows erupting from the tip and coiling around the sword as they rushed down to her arm. In the back of her mind, she saw Ongetsu grin, falling back and being consumed by the darkness. The sword in her hands began to shift, shooting forward and elongating. This was the first time Karin had ever released her sword, but it felt natural, as if she had been doing it her whole life. She reached forward, grabbing hold of it with her other hand.

Circles of reiatsu formed around her, crackling and twisting. A whirlwind of power. The power pulsed once and the shadows flew off the zanpakuto. Karin pulled it back, drawing the shaft up and pointing the blade towards the ground.

Ongetsu was a scythe. The shaft was pure black, and was just slightly longer than she was tall. The blade curved wickedly at the end, sunlight gleaming off the steel edge. Jagged lines of crimson were threaded through the shaft, and at the other end of it trailed a single broken chain. The end of the shaft near the blade ended in a small, sharp metal spike.

Yuzu stared at her for a moment. Karin looked back, her eyes resolute. Furutani-sensei's eyes moved between the two of them, and then he slowly took a step back, signaling that the fight could continue.

Karin wasted no time in moving. She charged forward, swinging the scythe at Yuzu with both hands. Yuzu jumped back just in time, the large blade sweeping under her. She landed crouched, both hands on her fans. The younger Kurosaki whirled around quickly, sending another two Getsuga Tenshous at Karin. Karin swept the scythe above her in an arc, the curved blade cutting through the Getsugas with a sound like a thunderclap. Reiatsu boomed outwards from the strike, sending shock waves through the area.

Karin's eyes blazed blue, reiatsu crackling around her as she looked over at her sister. She raised the scythe, the crescent blade channeling reiatsu. As she swung it downwards, the reiatsu moved, creating a larger Getsuga Tenshou than the ones Yuzu had been using. The attack rushed towards Yuzu, and her eyes widened. She quickly crossed Jungetsu's fans over herself in an attempt to block the attack, letting out a shout as the Getsuga struck the fans and swept her off her feet.

Yuzu flew backwards, crashing into the wall of the arena. The Getsuga followed her in, kicking up dust and stone as it tore into the wall. The crowd gasped, and Furutani-sensei stepped forward again, his sword in hand to call the fight.

The dust parted, two more crescent-shaped blades tearing it to shreds. Yuzu appeared in the air in front of the dust cloud, running full speed at Karin. Karin swept the attacks out of the air a second time, but just as the scythe swung past its farthest point, Yuzu flash stepped, moving in. She brought one fan out, twisting it around and slashing at Karin's front. Karin stepped back and flipped the scythe around, using the dull end to catch the fan in the side and push it out of the way. In response, Yuzu jumped, twisting her body around and moving the second fan towards Karin. Karin tilted her head to the side and leaned back, the fan sailing straight over.

The older twin tugged on her scythe, sweeping the bladed end upward. Yuzu jumped into the air, letting go of Jungetsu's fan with her right hand. She flipped backwards, pressing her hand against the scythe's staff and using it as a spring board to jump back and out of the way in time. She stumbled as she landed, but she caught Jungetsu's fan in her free hand, the cloth binding them settling around her shoulders as she rushed forward. She let out a small shout of effort, twisting the fan around and striking at Karin. Karin raised the scythe blade again, and blue sparks flew as the fan's blade scraped against the side of the scythe.

Yuzu landed and turned again, moving the second fan around and slashing upwards. The fan's blade caught the scythe's crashing against it and pushing it up and out of the way. With the other fan, she lunged forward, slashing at Karin. Karin immediately jumped back, holding the scythe's shaft with both hands and avoiding the attack.

The two of them stood at opposite ends of the field, reiatsu crackling around them. Yuzu slammed both of her fans together, holding them in both hands and pivoting around in a quick half-circle. The effect released a Getsuga Tenshou the size of the one that Karin had used earlier. Karin responded by swinging her scythe down, sending an identical attack towards Yuzu.

The two attacks struck each other, releasing a wave of light, wind, and dust. The two of them rushed forward behind their attacks, Karin letting out a loud shout. Karin swept her scythe down, but Yuzu caught it with the side of one of her fans, sweeping the scythe aside and pointing her other fan at Karin's throat.

The dust cleared, revealing the metal spike at the end of the scythe. It was pointed straight at Yuzu's throat as well. The younger Kurosaki's eyes drifted to it, and back to Karin. Both of them were breathing hard, staring at each other. Karin had the cut on her arm from earlier, blood slowly staining her uniform sleeve. Yuzu had a scrape on her forehead, a line of blood traveling down the side of her face.

"Alright," said Furutani, raising his sword. "That's enough, you two." He scowled, sheathing his sword and glancing at the assembled group of zanjutsu teachers. "Is the committee satisfied?"

They nodded, staring at them. "We are," said the woman at the front of the group.

"Good," said Furutani. "Because I sure as hell am." He looked over the two of them, then nodded once in approval. "Go get seen to by the medics, then go get cleaned up. We're done here. Good test, both of you. I'm sure you've got a lot of people considering you now."

He looked up at the stands, and sure enough, some of the officers were conferring with each other, a couple of the people in white haoris slowly beginning to leave the testing grounds.

The two of them stared at him for a moment, then nodded, slowly stepping back from each other. White light surrounded Jungetsu, shadows engulfing Ongetsu. The zanpakutos began to shrink, both taking the forms of ordinary katanas again. Yuzu let out a sigh of relief, sheathing Jungetsu. Karin sheathed Ongetsu, letting out a shaky laugh.

"Not—not bad," she said, turning towards Yuzu.

"Y-Yeah," said Yuzu in response, nodding at Karin. "You too."

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" asked Karin, gesturing at Yuzu's injury. Yuzu blinked in confusion, reaching up and touching the side of her head. She pulled her hand away, staring in surprise at the red on her fingers.

"I didn't notice," she said, shaking her head. "I was a little…caught up…"

"Yeah, me too," said Karin. She exhaled, releasing the tension slightly. "Let's get inside. It's freezing, and I bet we made Ichi-nii almost wet himself." Yuzu laughed slightly in response, nodding once and heading inside as Furutani conferred with the zanjutsu teachers.

As soon as they stepped through the doors, they were ambushed by Kohaku and Masaryu.

"Holy shit, guys," swore Kohaku when she saw them, rushing towards them. "It's a sparring match, not a duel to the death!"

Karin looked away as Yuzu laughed sheepishly, glancing at the floor. "Well, Karin-chan said not to hold back…" she said.

"At least it's over," said Masaryu. "I have to say, it was…rather interesting to watch."

"Speak for yourself," said Kohaku, rolling her eyes. "I've still got to face off against Ienagi tomorrow."

"You'll be fine," said Karin, stretching. "Ienagi can't spar worth shit."

"Congratulations, Yuzu, Karin," said Rukia with a smile, walking over to them. "It was a good match." Ichigo followed behind, his face pale.

"Thanks," said Karin with a grin. She looked over Rukia's shoulder at her brother. "You alright there, Ichi-nii?"

"What?" asked Ichigo, looking over at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Of course I'm—." He shook his head. "No, I'm _not _fine. What the hell was that?"

"A zanjutsu exam?" asked Karin.

Ichigo sighed, running his hand over his face. Renji grinned, hooking an arm around Ichigo's head and leaning forward. "C'mon, Ichigo," he said, pulling him aside. "You look like you need a drink."

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a drink either," said Karin as the others left, glancing over at Kohaku, Masa, and Yuzu.

Masa frowned. "Iwase has an exam tomorrow," he said. "And we have classes the day after that."

"Followed by hakuda examinations," added Yuzu with a nervous frown, staring down at the ground.

"That's next month," said Karin, glancing over at her sister. "Don't worry about it so much."

"Not to mention, it's not even afternoon yet," said Kohaku with a shrug. "I mean, not that I care, but the squads are still scoping us out, aren't they?"

"Good point," said Karin. "I don't feel like heading back to the Academy right now, though."

"Compromise, then," said Masa, frowning. "Get cleaned up and we'll go for lunch."

"Your treat?" asked Kohaku, grinning at him.

Masaryu sighed. "If I must," he said.

Kohaku rolled her eyes. "Oh come on," she said. "Don't pull that. We know you're loaded."

Yuzu smiled, following the two of them as they walked away. Karin sighed as she watched them, placing one hand on Ongetsu's hilt.

_Happy now? _she asked it.

Ongetsu grinned, coming out of the shadows for a moment to speak to her.

_**Absolutely. I think we're going to have a lot of fun together, Karin-chan. **_

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><p>The weeks after the zanjutsu exam flew by quickly. Kohaku passed her exam—as Karin predicted, Ienagi wasn't much of a fighter. After that, the tests went by faster and faster as the lower classes began testing, their fights drawing less enthusiasm and generally lasting for a shorter amount of time. Zanjutsu classes had ended at the start of the testing period, and while they still had other classes with which to occupy their time, the fact that one of their core classes was missing really drove home the point that Academy life would soon be ending.<p>

With the written exams starting to raise their ugly heads, the group often found themselves using their newly acquired free time to study, going over facts and principles that they hadn't had to remember for the past five or six years.

Yuzu and Kohaku's zanjutsu class still met, of course, but it was more for homeroom than for any actual lessons. At times, Furutani-sensei could manage to goad them into a spar, but most of the time, he gave them announcements and sent them on their way. They went on like this for the next few weeks, settling into a sort of odd routine.

The routine was broken one morning, when both Class 1 and Class 2 received summons to head to Senda-sensei's hakuda classroom first thing in the morning. Yuzu walked into the room with Kohaku, a frown on her face as she looked around. Class 1 was already there. The hakuda classroom was built like the zanjutsu classroom—an empty wooden room with no furniture for training purposes, and the students of Class 1 were seated on the floor, facing Senda-sensei.

Yuzu shivered, looking away from Miyako's glare. Aoyagi Miyako and Nimiya Seiji were unfortunately still students at the Academy. They had simply been suspended for their actions in third year, and had come back to school a week later. They hadn't bothered Yuzu or Karin since then, but Yuzu still hated running into them.

The memory of Miyako's fists and hands rushing towards her, the hatred in her eyes, was a little too fresh.

Kohaku placed her hands on Yuzu's arm, shooting Miyako an ugly glare. Miyako rolled her eyes, looking away.

"Ignore her, Yuzu-chan," said Kohaku, pushing Yuzu over to where Masa and Karin were seated. "…She can't touch you. Everyone saw your fight."

Yuzu gave Kohaku a weak smile, nodding once and sitting down next to Karin. The duel between both Kurosakis was something that had been talked about for a while after the match. The grades weren't out yet, but everyone could tell that they had done well. Her success hadn't discouraged Miyako, though. If anything, the other girl's glares had grown uglier.

If Senda-sensei noticed the tension in the room, she didn't say anything. The small woman stood at the front of the room, her hands on her hips. "Okay," she said. "Let's get started. I've got my own class coming in in a bit, and this won't take too long."

The conversation in the room dwindled to a murmur and was finally extinguished by a quick glare from the former member of the Second Division. She motioned to a pair of wooden boxes on the floor behind her. "As you all know, hakuda exams are scheduled to begin next week. The hakuda examinations will be held in the same format as the zanjutsu exams. Class 1 versus class 2, to keep things even so you won't know your opponent's style, individual exams, and pairs will be chosen at random. Any questions?"

The class fell silent. Yuzu swallowed, staring down at the ground. Zanjutsu had been one thing. It was horrible that she had to fight Karin, but she had at least been somewhat confident in her own abilities. Hakuda was a different animal entirely. She had never done well in a hakuda examination. Sure, her grades were getting better thanks to Kuchiki-taicho's instruction, but she didn't think she'd be able to stand up in an actual combat test against a member of the first class.

Still…it wasn't expected that they had to be good at everything. At this point, they were pretty much guaranteed to pass. All that was required for a student to graduate was that they manage a satisfactory rating in all of their examinations, and the bar for that was set fairly low.

But she knew that everyone wasn't expecting her to pass. At this level, in these classes, they were expected to _excel_.

"If there are no questions…" said Senda-sensei. She bent down, picking up a box in each hand and handing them to Onabara-sensei and Furutani-sensei. "Let's get started. You'll be drawing lots both for your opponent and your time slot. Line up in front of your sensei and pick a number."

The class got to their feet, varying levels of tension and excitement on their faces. Yuzu formed a line behind Kohaku, walking over to Furutani-sensei. He opened the box, each student coming forward and picking a number. Yuzu saw Karin and Masa pick numbers from Onabara-sensei as well, staring down at them and frowning. She reached out as Furutani-sensei held the box out to her, picking up a strip of paper. Yuzu unrolled it.

Four.

Four meant death. A bad omen. She shuddered, then chided herself for it. It was just a silly superstition. It meant nothing.

She walked back to where Kohaku and the others were sitting, her number clutched tightly in her hand. Senda-sensei brought out a clipboard and a pen, staring down at the list. "Alright," she said. "Who has 1?"

"Me," said a girl from Class 2, looking a little pale. She held up her number.

"And me," replied another boy from Class 1 that Yuzu recognized as Ienagi. Senda scribbled it down. "Ienagi versus Tendo, February 2, ten AM. Two?"

Masa raised his hand. "Me," he said simply.

"And me," said Nozawa from Class 2.

"Ankoujin versus Nozawa. February 2, five PM," said Senda-sensei. "Three?"

Another two students—a boy and a girl—raised their hands. Senda wrote it down. "Kanagi versus Aikawa. February 3, ten AM. Four?"

Yuzu took a deep breath. She raised her hand. "Me…" she said, quietly.

"And me."

Aoyagi Miyako scowled, looking over at Yuzu. Yuzu's eyes widened in surprise, and she lowered her hand, her breath catching in her throat.

"Oh, no freaking way…" muttered Kohaku under her breath.

"Aoyagi versus Kurosaki. February 3, five PM," said Senda-sensei simply. "Who has five?"

Yuzu didn't hear it. Her mind was still going back to third year, going back to Aoyagi Miyako bearing down on her, all fists, and hands, and feet.

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

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><p><strong>Notes: <strong>

Yes, the fight ended in a draw. Yes, I know that's cliché. But I couldn't think of any other way to end the fight and keep the theme of them being equal intact. Also, it probably would have ended in someone winning, if this wasn't just a match to test their zanjutsu skills.

Also, the whole 'four is death' thing comes from the Japanese word for 'four' (_shi_) being pronounced the same as the word for death. It's probably why the Fourth Division uses the other pronunciation of four (_yon_, as in Yonbantai). Shibantai does not sound like the place you go to get healed. XD


	32. A question of control

**A/N:** Seven chapters to go. Sorry, I miscounted. The huge HitsuKarin moment is actually in Chapter 34, not 32, but since I told you guys to expect it, I'll allude to it in this chapter. :) And…well, so many of you asked for a ByaYuzu moment in this chapter. I originally wasn't intending to add one, but…I aim to please. ^^

**Update on Ichigo's decision: **I'm being pulled both ways at the moment. On one hand, I agree with the 'yes' people in that it would introduce a really fun dynamic into the story and be a fun transition to write through and to see, but on the other hand, I also agree with the 'no' people in that it would not be in character for Ichigo to accept the offer as given, and I can't think of a way to twist it to make it believable. (Yes, it would make marrying Rukia easier, but the man who broke into Seireitei and beat up her older brother to save her wouldn't care about that…etc).

So…I'm leaning towards no. 'Yes' people, your challenge for this round of reviews is to give me suggestions to make Ryushin's offer more attractive to Ichigo. Otherwise, what I'm going to do is have him reject it, and have it come back a little later on (in the ByaYuzu story) as certain plot points begin to come to light.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

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><p><strong>Chapter 32: A question of control<strong>

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><p>Byakuya picked up the Sixth's Division's wooden stamp, dipping it in ink and pressing it to the bottom of the sheet of paper he had been working on. He pulled it away and set it aside, revealing the black diamond and kanji character for six that was the symbol of the Rokubantai. The captain set the sheet of paper aside, calmly picking up the next one and looking over it.<p>

The end of January was paperwork season for most of the Divisions, as they scrambled to finish the painstaking compilation of reports from last year. For Divisions like the Sixth, the Ninth, and occasionally the Thirteenth, where there was either a captain or a vice-captain but not both, it meant two weeks of long days and longer nights. Byakuya had been completing his at an efficient pace, but even he was looking forward for the first of February, where there would be no paperwork to do.

He frowned, setting down his pen and idly rubbing at his writing hand as he glanced around the study, his eyes falling on the empty desk against the side wall. The Sixth Division armband that its occupant had once wore lay in his desk drawer, waiting for another wearer. He didn't think he would grow to regret recommending Abarai for promotion, but admittedly, for all his brashness and ill-manners, the former vice-captain had done a good job, and had boosted the morale of the Division significantly.

Of course, now the Third was benefiting from that, and Byakuya also conceded that it was now _much _quieter around here.

A knock came at the sliding door, and Byakuya looked up.

"Enter," he said.

The door slid open, revealing his now eighth seat. She bowed at him. "Excuse me, taicho," she said.

"What is it, Shirogane?" he asked.

Shirogane Mihane stepped forward, handing several sheet of paper out to him. For a moment, he thought it was more paperwork, but as he looked over it, he realized that it was an examination schedule from the Academy. "The Shino Academy has just sent out the schedule for the hakuda examinations."

He nodded, accepting the papers from her and putting them aside. "Thank you," he said. "You're dismissed."

"Hai, taicho," she said, bowing and exiting the room.

Byakuya frowned as she left, picking up the schedule. He picked up the first page, the one marked with the heading Class 1 vs. Class 2. The captain picked up his pen, scanning the list for the names of the Academy students he wanted to watch more closely. He encircled Ankoujin vs. Nozawa, then hesitated at Kurosaki vs. Nagi. While she showed potential, he was fairly certain that a hakuda match involving Kurosaki Karin would inevitably devolve into a brawl.

He frowned, marking it with an asterisk for future consideration. His eyes traveled further up the list.

Byakuya's frown deepened, his pen resting against the side of the fourth match as his eyes moved over the match up.

**February 3, 5:00 PM**

**Aoyagi Miyako vs. Kurosaki Yuzu**

Byakuya hesitated, then slowly encircled the match.

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><p>The usual mountains of paperwork on Toshiro's desk had grown since the last time Karin had been in here, and she frowned, looking over from her seat on the couch at her friend. He had managed to pin down Matsumoto for work for most of this week, but he still seemed a little overwhelmed by it all-probably because of the backlog that the Tenth had managed to build up. She'd offer to help, but he'd already explained to her that she didn't have the authority to handle paperwork, and some of the information was sensitive.<p>

She hadn't been by the Tenth Division in a while. Besides the fact that she was still trying to understand her feelings for the captain, her schedule had been a little booked with training and studying, and Toshiro had been busy with paperwork. But now, they were beginning to close in on the hakuda exams. Yuzu, Masa, and Kohaku all had exams during the first week, and they were spending the day training for them. Karin's exam wasn't until the second week of the testing period, and she had decided to take a break.

With hakuda classes closed for testing and zanjutsu classes done for good, there were two huge holes in her schedule.

"Matsumoto's been gone a while," she commented, leaning back on the couch. "Want me to go find her?"

"Iie, leave it," said Toshiro, stamping the form in front of him and setting it aside. "I don't want to deal with her right now." He ran a hand through his white hair, smearing a streak of blank ink across it. Karin stifled a laugh.

"Sure," she said, lying back on the couch and hiding her grin. The sound of papers rustling and pen scraping against paper continued.

"Are you done with classes already?" he asked after a while.

"Hakuda's my last class of the day," said Karin. "And it's closed for testing. My exam's not for two weeks, and I need a break from training."

"After hakuda is kidou, isn't it?" asked Toshiro, frowning up at her.

"Aa," said Karin, nodding. "I can do Soukatsui and Shakkaho. It won't be great, but I'll pass." Kidou wasn't a combat test, because of the amount of variables involved. Instead, for their kidou exam, they would be asked to perform a series of spells chosen at random, followed by three spells of their own choosing.

"Exams are finishing up fast," remarked Toshiro. "Have they set a date for graduation?"

"Aa," said Karin, nodding. "May 7." It was the day after hers and Yuzu's birthday, so it was an easy date to remember. "Kidou exams are in March, and finals, officer interviews, and all that crap are in April."

"I see," said Toshiro. He paused for a moment to read and sign another form. "…Have you thought about what Division you want to join yet?"

"…Nah," said Karin, shrugging. "There's no point. It'll depend on who offers."

"…Well…" said Toshiro with a frown. "…There's always a place for you in the Tenth if you want it."

Karin sat up, looking over at him. There was something about the way he said it…a question in his voice, that made her stop and look up. She looked at him, but he had already turned away, moving to the next stack of papers. For a moment, the look in his eye reminded her of that night, that one confusing night outside the Academy.

But the moment was gone, and the serious expression had returned to Toshiro's face.

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><p>Yuzu made her way down the hall as her last class ended, her fingers tightly gripping the strap of her school bag. She kept her eyes on the ground, her stomach still churning as she thought about the hakuda match later this week. The sleeves of her Academy uniform were singed. She hadn't been able to focus all through kidou, which had been strange for her. Ichibana-sensei had finally excused her from the class.<p>

The last time she had had difficulty focusing in kidou had been in the summer of her third year, directly after the incident with Miyako, in the days shortly before she had started training with Kuchiki-taicho. She thought she had been over it—that the training had helped her gain some sort of confidence.

Now, she wasn't sure. And she would need to be confident, to be strong, for the hakuda examination. She didn't want Kuchiki-taicho to think training her had been a waste of his time…

From beside her, Kohaku gave her a worried frown. She had spent the last few days practicing with Kohaku, trying to ease her nerves somewhat, but the closer the match came, the worse it got. By this point, she had all but convinced herself that she would lose horribly, and ruin her chances as a shinigami forever.

"…Don't look now," said Kohaku as they turned a corner. "But here comes the queen bitch herself."

Yuzu looked up. Aoyagi Miyako was walking down the hall, heading straight towards them. She tensed as the girl looked up at them and moved purposefully in their direction, resisting the urge to step back and away. Miyako stopped in front of them, a scowl on her face like she had just stepped in something smelly.

"…Hello, Kurosaki-san," she said.

Yuzu's hands shook slightly. She forced them to remain steady, meeting Miyako's eyes.

_Control..._she thought to herself, remembering Kuchiki-taicho's lessons. She drew herself up to her full height, forcing herself to look Miyako straight in the eye. _Breathe. Maintain control. _

"Aoyagi-san," she greeted.

"Ready for our match?" asked Miyako. "…As I recall, it didn't turn out so well for you the last time. What was the damage? A cracked rib?"

"Get lost, Aoyagi," growled Kohaku from her side. "Unless you want me to remind you what _you _ended up with."

_Control. Breathe. She's trying to intimidate you. Maintain control. _

"…I—I'm not afraid of you, Aoyagi-san," she said, trying to inject confidence into her voice. "What you're doing won't work."

"Sou ka?" asked Miyako, frowning. "Well…then I guess I'll see you on Wednesday, Kurosaki-san. May the best fighter win."

She folded her arms and turned, as if she was going to walk away. At the last second, Miyako pivoted rapidly, her fist sailing towards Yuzu's face. Yuzu's eyes widened and she froze. Kuchiki-taicho had taught her how to deal with a punch to the face. He'd taught her how to defend against it. She knew in her head that she had to move, that she had to get out of the way and get her hands up, catch Miyako by the arm and get her in a position where she was off-center. She knew that in her head.

But her body froze, and the punch stopped an inch from her nose, her eyes wide and her face pale.

Miyako grinned at her, pulling her hand away. She flipped her hair casually, tossing a wave over her shoulder and heading down the hallway.

And Yuzu stared, her eyes wide and her hands shaking.

* * *

><p>The sun had already set by the time Byakuya left the Sixth Division, and the streets of Seireitei were lit by lamp light. There was a cold breeze in the air, carrying with it the promise of snow later on. It had been a mild winter, but there had been a few brief patches of white here and there, and it was almost February. Tomorrow would be January 31, the last day for him to finish the Sixth Division's paperwork.<p>

And also his birthday.

But after so long, that fact didn't matter as much to him. Rukia would greet him politely in the morning. The elders would pass him another token trinket, and the world would continue to turn.

_She _had really been the only one who had cared much about the day he was born. When January 31 came about, he often found himself thinking of _her_. She never gave him any gifts, never threw any parties. But she would insist on staying by his side, even during the fifth year when her health had begun to fail her, because 'it was a special day'.

_Hisana_…

Birthdays had been a little ruined for him after that.

His thoughts wandered as he walked, his eyes drifting towards a tree that had become completely covered in frost. In the spring, it would show itself to be a sakura tree, pale pink cherry blossoms drifting in the wind. Now, in the dead of winter, its branches were covered in delicate ice crystals, trails of frost creeping up the branches. His thoughts drifted from Hisana to her sister, now his.

It had always seemed fitting to him that Rukia's zanpakuto was ice. Rukia, like him, had been born in the dead of winter, on the 14th of January. As she reminded him of Hisana, and winter reminded him of Hisana, and Rukia reminded him of winter, it all seemed to fit together.

He frowned, slowly looking away from the frozen sakura tree.

There was a splash of red beneath it, a bright patch of color that moved against the background of stark gray and white. Byakuya paused in his walk, watching. Kurosaki Yuzu drew her hand back, exhaling in one swift breath. The breath misted in front of her face, her eyes hardening as she moved her hand forward in a quick strike. The movements were the same movements he had taught her, but the quiet calm that he had slowly begun to see in her was gone, replaced instead by the same frantic desperation that he had seen in her that first day, when he had found her training in his garden.

…No, it was worse than back then. Back then, it had simply been guilt, self-loathing, weakness, and desperation. Now, it seemed to be all of that, but like frost in the winter, it had been covered by the cold touch of fear.

He watched as she sucked in a breath, taking a step back and shaking her head, her hands pressed to her temples in frustration.

The Sixth Division captain cleared his throat, and she immediately tensed, her eyes widening as she whirled around to face him.

She looked like a startled animal—like one that might rush away at any moment. He kept his distance, not taking a step towards her.

"Ku-Kuchiki-taicho," she stammered, a look of surprise on her face. There were frost crystals on her cheeks. The evidence of frozen tears? The girl sniffed, lowering her eyes and wiping her face with her sleeve. "…I—I'm sorry you had to see that."

He frowned, staring at her. Yuzu shrank beneath his gaze, turning away. "I—I'll be heading back to the Academy now…" she said quietly.

"…You are concerned about the match with Aoyagi." He said it just as she turned away. It wasn't a question. Yuzu stiffened, looking back at him.

"…You know?" she asked.

"The examination schedule arrived at my Division today," he replied coolly.

Yuzu took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. "I—," she began, then shook her head again, changing tactics. "I'm not—I don't think I can—."

"You are afraid." Again, it was not a question. She bit her lip, lowering her eyes. "You fear Aoyagi Miyako."

"…Am—Am I that easy to read?"

He said nothing. Yuzu shook her head, continuing to talk.

"I just wanted—for a moment I thought that I might be able to do something—to show you what I learned…but she confronted me today, and I couldn't even move. I guess I really am weak after all, aren't I?" She laughed a bit at that, her eyes downcast. "…I can't even stand up to her. Just because I lost to her once."

"You were the victim of an act of malice. You were overpowered by a stronger opponent at the beginning of your training. Some amount of fear is natural." His frown deepened. "But you commit a grave error of judgment. You assume that the strong do not fear."

Yuzu fell silent. For a moment, he thought she wouldn't speak. When she spoke, it was so quiet he almost didn't hear it.

"I know that strong people get afraid…" she said. "…My brother…Otou-san…Karin-chan…" She shook her head. "But I've never seen them stop because of it…or freeze up like I did." Her hand curled in a loose fist, her eyes focused on the ground.

"…Have you ever been afraid of something, Kuchiki-taicho?"

He thought of how he had felt when Unohana-taicho told him Hisana's illness was incurable. He thought of how he had felt when his father and mother passed away, leaving him as his grandfather's heir. He thought about how he had felt when he saw Rukia in the clutches of that Arrancar.

"It has happened." He didn't elaborate.

"How do you deal with it?" asked Yuzu. "How do you keep going?"

"You ask yourself. Is it worth it? Is there something that matters to you more than this fear? Does the fear control you, or do you control it? Is this going to be something that stops you, or something that drives you?"

Yuzu continued to stare at the ground, not looking up. She hugged her arms close to her chest. Byakuya frowned at her.

"These are things you must consider on your own. I will be present on the third of February, in the testing grounds, at five in the afternoon. At that time, I expect you to show me what your decision will be."

He turned away, without waiting for a response. "Good night, Kurosaki Yuzu."

In a flash, he was gone, leaving her standing there, holding her arms close to her.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Omake: <strong>

Kuchiki Rukia, vice-captain of the Thirteenth Division, sat cross-legged on the floor of one of the rooms in the Kuchiki Manor, surrounded by several piles of paperwork. She picked up one of the nearest stacks, frowning down at it and reading over the words. She sighed, running a hand over her face as the words started to blur on the page. The vice-captain picked up her pen, signing her name at the bottom. She reached over, grabbing the wood block with the Thirteenth Division's seal on it and stamping it to the bottom of the sheet.

One more form done, what felt like ten million to go.

"And I'm telling you, Renji, for the last time, it wasn't me!"

"Well, then who was it? Because _you _were the only one that went into my office while I was out!"

Rukia twitched, her fingers tightening around the pen. She looked up. Ichigo and Renji sat on the veranda overlooking the garden, glaring at each other.

"…Oi," she said, causing them to frown and look up at her. "I have a lot of paperwork today, so please try and keep it down."

"Ah, sure, sure," said Ichigo, nodding once in understanding.

Rukia sighed, going back to her work. She picked up the next stack of papers, looking over them as Ichigo and Renji continued to talk in low voices.

"What the hell do you mean I wasn't watching?" asked Renji, raising his voice again. "I was standing right there! Right there! I went outside for ten minutes, and when I came back, it was gone!"

Rukia looked up, shooting Renji a glare. He glanced at her, then cleared his throat, shaking his head. "Sorry, Rukia," he said, sitting back down and continuing to confer with Ichigo.

Rukia sighed, beginning to read the form again.

"Why the hell would I even take it in the first place?" yelled Ichigo.

"I don't know! You tell me!" shouted Renji in reply.

Rukia's fist closed around the pen, her eye twitching. She stood up, slowly walking over to the sliding door. The vice-captain rested one hand on it, staring down at the two of them.

"Renji…" she said. "Ichigo…"

The two of them gulped, looking up at her. Their hands were at each other's throats, pulling them up by their shihakushos.

"…I don't think you two understand," she said. "This paperwork is due _tomorrow_. Ukitake-taicho has been sick for two weeks, and I am the only one in my Division doing this work. So…I mean this in the best possible way. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

She slammed the sliding door shut, running a hand through her hair in frustration and sitting down in front of her paperwork again. A short moment of silence passed.

"…Dammit, Renji! Now you made her mad!"

"_I _made her mad? _You _made her mad!"

Rukia's fist clenched, a vein pulsing on her forehead.

"Shut up! You're disturbing her!"

"You're the one being loud! _You _shut up!"

Her hand reached for her zanpakuto's hilt.

_"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" _

The sliding door opened a few hours later, and Rukia looked up. Byakuya walked into the room, a frown on his face.

"Tadaima,"

Rukia immediately got to her feet.

"Ah, nii-sama," she said, bowing at him. "Okaerinasai. How was your day?"

"The Rokubantai accomplished an acceptable amount of work. After I returned, I took the liberty of taking a stroll in my gardens," said Byakuya. He glanced at her. "…I believe it is too early in the season to be installing ice sculptures."

Rukia sweatdropped. "Ah…hai. My apologies, nii-sama," she said. "I find that they improve my ability to focus on my paperwork. Shall I go take them down?"

"…Iie," said Byakuya coolly. "…Leave them. I find their effect strangely aesthetically pleasing."

"Hai, nii-sama," said Rukia as Byakuya walked away, the hint of a smile on his face. She smiled, sitting down and going back to her paperwork.

Behind him stood a piece of jagged ice, a wide-eyed Ichigo and Renji frozen inside of it.


	33. Decide for yourself

**A/N:** And we're at six chapters to go. I want to take this time to thank everyone for the support they've given this story. I can't imagine I would have ever continued this story without all of your continued support. To be honest, so many of my fanfictions (and my original stories) have fallen to the wayside because I've just lost the will to write them, but I keep coming back to this one every single time.

This chapter is short, but it acts as a connecting point between two events. Next chapter will represent a major turning point in the story, for both twins. I hope you all enjoy it.

**FeatherxDreams, **I would answer your question if I knew the answer to that, lol. I walked into Phases intending to focus on Karin, but Yuzu wound up being a strong character in her own right. So…I have no idea. I don't plan these things, haha. I can tell you that the Arrancar plot will come to fruition in the sequel, so Karin and Ichigo will definitely get dragged into that. (And wait till you see who's leading them, mwahahahaha. No, it's not Aizen…exactly).

Also, a certain two syllable word that ends in kai and starts with ban might make an appearance in the sequel, if I can work it in.

Oh, and more 'dances' for Rukia, because those attack names just have _so _many possibilities. _Shi no mai_ (Fourth Dance _or _Dance of Death depending on kanji) and _Saigo no mai _(Final Dance).

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 33: Decide for yourself<strong>

* * *

><p>By the time Yuzu found her way back to the Academy, it was dark, and the lights were out in most of the dormitory windows. After her talk with Kuchiki-taicho, she had wandered aimlessly for a while, thinking over what he had told her. When she was done, she didn't think that she was <em>calm<em>, but some of the nervous energy had been burned off, leaving her with the same pervasive feeling of dread that she had started with.

Her eyes moved over the rows of third floor windows in the women's dormitory, landing on Kohaku's window. A faint light shone from inside of it. Yuzu hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to see Kohaku right now. Her friend had been present at the confrontation with Aoyagi earlier, and she didn't want to be constantly reminded of that. Her eyes moved downwards to the second floor and over to Karin's window. It was dark.

It was probably for the best. Yuzu already knew what Karin would say. Her twin would rant on and on about how she shouldn't have been training with Kuchiki-taicho in the first place, about how she would beat up Aoyagi there and then and about how Yuzu didn't need to face her on Wednesday if she didn't want to. Besides, talking to Karin would mean admitting that she had been training with Kuchiki-taicho for the better part of three years. It wasn't a secret. Ichigo knew about it, Rukia knew about it, and her father knew about it. But she had never specifically told Karin about it.

It wasn't that she wanted to keep secrets from her twin. But it felt like everything that Yuzu learned or did was something Karin or Ichigo had already done. She was becoming a shinigami? Karin and Ichigo had known about them for years. She had achieved shikai? Ichigo was a captain. She had discovered that she could fight some of her own battles? Karin and Ichigo had been getting into scrapes for as long as she could remember.

This felt like something all of her own—a secret thing that she had that Karin didn't. She didn't want to give that up quite yet—especially so soon before her match.

She had thought about talking to Ichigo about it. Yuzu had spent about twenty minutes standing outside the gate to the Fifth Division, staring at the light in the captain's quarters and arguing with herself. But in the end, she had turned away. She already knew what Ichigo would say as well. He would try to pull her out of the fight. He would bully his way into the Academy and demand that Senda-sensei withdraw her. He would yell at Kuchiki-taicho for expecting her to fight Miyako. She couldn't think of any way she could talk to him without him making a scene, and she didn't want that either. So she had left the Fifth.

She had thought about talking to her father, but it was a long walk to the First District of Rukongai, and it was late at night. She didn't want to wander too far from the Academy, and she didn't want Miyako to think she was running away.

There was only one member of her family she really felt like talking to at the moment, and that was nothing more than an impossible dream. The memory of her mother's warmth returned to her—the feeling of Masaki's arms wrapped lovingly around her as she cried her eyes out as a child, and her fist clenched, her eyes fixed on the ground. It had been so long, and she had been so young then, but she still remembered her mother's laugh, her mother's smile, the sound of her voice…

_Mama…what would you say? _

She didn't know. She probably would never. What would Kurosaki Masaki say if she could see them all now—Ichigo a shinigami captain, Karin on her way to graduating at the top of her class, and Yuzu…

And Yuzu what?

The memory was of a kiss on her forehead, of a tender embrace, things made even more poignant by the memory of her loss.

"_You are my sweet little girl, Yuzu…" _

Hot tears filled her eyes and she quickly squeezed them shut. She _missed _her. It was at times like these when she suddenly remembered _how _much. Masaki had been kind, had been warm, and had been a light at the center of their home.

And Yuzu hadn't been much more than a poor replacement for her.

Maybe that was it. Maybe that was why she was having so much difficulty now. Ever since her mother died, she had been trying to be Masaki. Now that they were in the Academy, she was trying to be Karin, or trying to be Ichigo. It felt like she was always trying to be somebody else, and she was failing every time.

Maybe it was time for her to try to be Yuzu for once.

She sucked in a breath, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her hand as tears trickled down the side of her face again.

Ichigo and Karin would face down Miyako without fear. They weren't intimidated by her. They would stand in front of her in the ring and bring her down fiercely. Masaki wouldn't be drawn into the fight at all. If she had been a shinigami, she probably would have been a healer. She would also not be intimidated by Miyako.

What would Yuzu do?

She let her hand fall to her side, taking a deep breath.

The wind blew, and in a flash, she was gone.

* * *

><p>Sokyoku Hill was situated at the very heart of Seiretei, the Five, now Four Great Noble Houses bordering it on all four directions. On his darker days, Byakuya often theorized that it was no coincidence. The hill served as a stark reminder that the consequences of disregarding one's duties were dire, even for those of the highest rank of nobility. From the westernmost room in the Kuchiki Manor, one could see the top of Sokyoku Hill clearly. The rooftop of the Manor gave a vantage point good enough that the faint outlines of people at the top of the hill could be seen, if they were standing at the right direction.<p>

A lone figure stood at the top of the hill, moving in several practiced motions. At this time of night, he wasn't close enough to make out any details, but the person was dressed in bright red. The person moved with quick, controlled movements—not slow, but not overly rushed either, the moonlight showing only the outline of their form.

With the eyes of a captain, he saw mistakes. He saw inexperience and weakness. With the eyes of a teacher, he saw promise, and improvement.

Wednesday's match would be interesting indeed.

The sliding door below the rooftop opened, and Rukia stepped out, a confused frown on her face as she craned her neck to see him. "Nii-sama?" she asked.

He took a step closer to the edge of the roof, looking down at her.

"What are you looking at?" asked Rukia, frowning and attempting to follow his line of sight. From her vantage point, she could see only the sheer cliffs that marked the Hill.

"It is none of your concern," replied Byakuya coolly. "Sleep. I will be inside in a minute."

Rukia's confused expression only grew, but she nodded. "Hai, nii-sama," she said, heading back inside.

Byakuya watched the figure for a few more moments, frowning in thought before following his sister down.

* * *

><p>"I'm telling you for the last time, Iwase, the fight schedules are <em>final<em>. I am not changing them."

"And I'm telling _you, _sensei! You can't make Yuzu fight against Aoyagi! That's just cruel. Give her my fight instead. I'll take Aoyagi down. I'm not afraid of that bitch."

"_Iwase!" _

Senda-sensei's tone was a warning. Kohaku scowled, but took a step back, her fists clenched at her sides. It was early in the morning, about the time that they would normally be getting ready for zanjutsu, and the two of them were standing inside the hakuda classroom, arguing in raised voices. The hakuda instructor took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. "I understand how you feel, Iwase," she said. "But it would be unfair to the others to switch the fight."

"You didn't see her yesterday, sensei!" said Kohaku. "_I _did. I was there when Aoyagi threatened her. I saw the look on her face. She didn't come back to the dorms last night, sensei! Furutani already made her fight her sister. Would you seriously make her fight someone like Aoyagi for an _exam_?"

"I don't control how the lot gets drawn," said Senda. "In the real world, when you get assigned to your squads, you won't always be able to pick your battles. I'm sorry. Life's tough like that sometimes."

"Sensei!" shouted Kohaku again.

"It's alright, Kohaku-chan."

Kohaku's eyes widened at the sound of the voice, and she turned around. Yuzu stood behind her, a weary look on her face. There was fresh snow on her Academy uniform.

"Where the hell did you go?" asked Kohaku, turning towards her. "I looked for you last night!"

"I needed to clear my head," said Yuzu with a tired smile. She looked away from Kohaku, turning to face Senda. The hakuda teacher faced her, a frown on her face and her hand resting lightly on her hip.

"Do you want something, Kurosaki?" she asked.

"Hai," said Yuzu, nodding. The smile vanished from her face, her eyes hardening slightly. "…Kohaku-chan, thank you for worrying about me, but, Senda-sensei, I will fight Aoyagi-san on Wednesday."

"Yuzu-chan?" asked Kohaku, looking at her with wide eyes.

Senda's brow rose. She frowned at her. "Are you sure about that, Kurosaki?" she asked.

"Hai, sensei."

"Then good luck," said Senda, nodding at Yuzu. "Try and show me something good."

Yuzu nodded, bowing formally in response before turning around and leaving the classroom. Kohaku stared after her for a few moments before scrambling to follow her.

* * *

><p>The Ankoujin Family Manor had become a familiar sight in the two years since Isshin's secret had been revealed. Out of the three of them, Yuzu was definitely here the most, followed by Karin, but Ichigo had taken the time to stop in once in a while. It wasn't something he had done in the past month, mostly because Ryushin's offer was still weighing heavily on his mind, along with Rukia's words and the promise he had made to her.<p>

He walked through its gates now, making his way purposefully towards his grandfather's study. The servants ignored him, knowing by now that they didn't need to ask him what he was doing here or what his business was. Ryushin had probably told them to let them all through.

He entered the study without knocking. Ryushin looked up as he did. The head of the Ankoujin House was sitting at his writing desk, looking through a book of some sort. He frowned at Ichigo, putting the book away and setting it aside.

"I'm guessing you're here because you have a decision for me?" he asked.

"Aa," said Ichigo, nodding once as he stood in front of the older man's desk.

"And what is that decision?" asked Ryushin.

"I refuse."

Silence followed his words. Ryushin simply stared. He didn't react. In fact, he didn't even seem surprised. He met Ichigo's eyes, and Ichigo bore the weight of the retired captain's stare.

Finally, he spoke. "Fair enough," he said, folding his hands on top of the book on his desk. "Can you tell me why?"

"I don't need it," said Ichigo. "I don't need to be tied to any sort of noble house, no offense. I don't need recognition to live in Seireitei. Everyone already knows what I can do, and what I've done. And I don't need an official title for me to protect my family. I'll look out for Masa because I want to, not because you tell me to."

"Even if it will make your courting of Kuchiki Rukia easier?" asked Ryushin.

"What's between me and Rukia—I don't know where it's going yet, and I'm not going to guess. But I broke into Seiretei to save her. Do you really think I'm afraid of the Kuchiki Clan?"

"A wise man would be," said Ryushin, frowning. His frown faded, and he smiled slightly. "But this family doesn't seem to have a tendency to produce those, myself included. What about Yuzu and Karin?"

"You can ask them if you want. I don't care if they accept or refuse. But you asked me for _my _decision and that's it."

Ryushin stared at Ichigo for a moment. The Fifth Division captain stared back, a look in his eye that dared the old man to challenge his decision. Ryushin didn't back down, his expression unchanged. Then, he smiled, shaking his head. "You are your father's son…" he said quietly.

"Aa," said Ichigo, nodding. For once, he agreed. "I am. And that's another thing. My old man might be an idiot, but I'm not going to be a part of anything he's left out of."

"Very well," said Ryushin, getting up. "I accept your decision. I hope you know, though, that the three of you are still welcome here."

Ichigo nodded. "I know," he said. "And for what it's worth, the offer meant a lot. But I don't need to deal with that."

"Understandable," said Ryushin. "I suppose I'll see you around, then. Perhaps at Yuzu's match?"

Ichigo nodded once. "Yeah," he said. "I'll be there. See you."

Ryushin watched the orange-haired captain go, waiting until the sliding door closed behind him. Then, he opened the book on his desk again. A single picture looked back up at him—that of a dark-haired young man that looked somewhat like Ichigo, standing in a blue and white Academy uniform and grinning as he waved his squad assignment in the air, his arm slung around his younger brother's neck.

A kanji inscription lay underneath the picture, written in a neat, feminine handwriting that had belonged to his wife—the boys' mother.

_Congratulations, Isshin. May your future be bright. _

He smiled faintly, closing the book and setting it aside.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Notes on Ichigo's decision: <strong>So, yes. In the end, I went with no, because the 'no' people gave me the type of reasons I needed. Would it have been socially advantageous for him to say yes? Yes. Would it have been a great opportunity? Yes. Would it have made life easier? Yes. Would Ichigo think those were good reasons to accept? No.

Expect to see more of this in the sequel though. ^^


	34. Strength within

**A/N:** Five chapters. We are so close!

**Thunderclaw, **sorry if you misunderstood…The handwriting was written in _Isshin's _mom's handwriting (Ichigo's grandmother). Ichigo's mom isn't in Soul Society as far as I know, because she was eaten by Grand Fisher. So she's well and truly dead. *sadface*

Did I ever mention I used to hate writing fights? I never knew how to make them interesting. I think I'm getting a little better at them now, though. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 34: Strength within<strong>

* * *

><p>The day of the fight was overcast and dreary, fitting her mood perfectly. Yuzu wrapped her arms around herself and repressed a shiver, taking a deep breath and stepping out into the arena. Despite her words to Kohaku a few days ago and her training, she was still scared. She didn't think anything she did would be able to take that fear away. It sat in her stomach like a cold lump of lead, its tendrils wrapping around her heart.<p>

There was a large crowd out today, both to watch her and to watch Miyako. Her eyes scanned the crowd, landing on Karin and Ichigo. They sat with Isshin, Masa, and Seishin, watching her with varying degrees of worry and anticipation on their faces. Kohaku sat next to Karin, her arms folded and a scowl on her face. Yuzu had sworn her friend to secrecy about what had happened in the hallway. Rukia sat next to Ichigo.

He wasn't there.

Yuzu frowned, scanning the crowd for a hint of a white haori or pale blue scarf. Kuchiki-taicho wasn't normally hard to find. He didn't wear any bright colors, but something about the way he carried himself made him stand out in a crowd. Her eyes moved up the stands, a frown on her face.

He said he would be here…

_**Prepare yourself, Yuzu…**_

She saw Jungetsu in the back of her mind, her zanpakuto spirit that looked so much like herself. Yuzu took a deep breath, turning to face Miyako.

The other girl carried herself confidently, a smirk on her face as she watched Yuzu. The two of them bowed, then went through the kata routines that Senda-sensei called out. When it was over, she turned towards them, holding her hands out.

"Your zanpakutos," she said.

Miyako tugged her sheathed sword free from her sword belt, passing it casually towards Senda. Yuzu took a deep breath, slowly freeing Jungetsu and handing it over to her. It felt wrong, like handing over a part of herself. But she could feel Jungetsu's reassurance in the back of her mind as she handed the blade over. Senda held the swords carefully in both her hands, stepping forward and facing them.

"Bow," she commanded.

They bowed. Yuzu could practically hear her heart. Miyako grinned at her as the two of them came up from their bows.

"Are you alright, Kurosaki-san?" she asked. "You look a little pale."

Yuzu said nothing, enduring the mocking tone in Miyako's voice. She clenched her fist, trying not to let any of her fear show on her face.

_Breathe…_she told herself, exhaling slowly through her nose and attempting to release some of that frantic energy.

"Begin," said Senda, raising her hand.

Yuzu almost didn't see the fist coming at her. Her eyes widened, and she pulled her head back a little too late. Miyako's fist clipped her in the side of the head, sending her reeling back. She quickly righted herself as Miyako came in again with a kick, ducking her head and blocking Miyako's kick with her wrist as she jumped back. The fear had her in its grip now. She could feel its cold touch running through her veins, sweat beading on her skin.

And Miyako continued to rush at her, an ugly grin on her face. She kicked again, and Yuzu jumped back, avoiding the kick. She let out a quick breath, glancing back and noticing the distance she had given up.

Her eyes narrowed in determination. Hadn't she already told herself she wouldn't falter here? Even if Kuchiki-taicho wasn't watching, she would fight as herself.

Face Miyako despite the fear.

Miyako came at her again with a kick, and this time, Yuzu saw it. An opening. She stepped neatly to the side of the kick, her eyes passing over Miyako's form as words from her lessons rang in her head.

"_A kick is inherently unstable…" _She stepped forward, wrapping both her hands around Miyako's inside wrist. _"…Upset their balance." _Yuzu tugged sharply, sending Miyako to the ground in a flurry of red and white fabric. She spun around, jumping out of the way of her leg as it twisted around to catch her ankle.

Miyako jumped up, her eyes narrowed in frustration as she ran towards Yuzu to throw a punch.

"_A punch thrown at a run carries with it a large amount of momentum. Note the way the shoulders lean forward, ahead of the body. Disappear." _Yuzu twisted to the side, side-stepping Miyako's punch. Miyako's body continued to move forward. _"Then move in." _

She slid her hand down Miyako's arm, catching her wrist and twisting. Miyako pitched forward, landing on the ground again as Yuzu jumped back, neatly getting away. Miyako growled low in her throat, putting her hands on the ground and pushing herself up as she jumped to her feet. The anger and frustration was evident on her face.

"_An angered opponent is never in control. Their movements are easy to read. For your part, you must not give any cues that hint as to what you are planning to do." _

She kept her own face smooth, her eyes narrowed in determination as Miyako rushed at her. She stepped out of the way of an attack, letting it go past her.

"Damn you!" yelled Miyako, swinging around to punch her again. "Quit playing around!"

Her eyes met Yuzu's, and Yuzu's eyes widened. She'd been so focused on seeing the anger and hatred in Miyako's eyes that she had never noticed this. But right now, as Miyako looked at her, coming in for another attack, she saw it. She saw the open jealousy, the desperation, the desire to prove herself. She saw it, and as she dodged this attack, she understood.

Miyako wasn't the evil, unbeatable monster she had imagined in her head. She dodged a second attack, watching as the girl's eyes shone with unshed tears.

She was just a girl. An insecure, angry girl who was upset at being second best. Who saw herself as someone who could be greater than she was now.

It was a sentiment she understood, and it made her see Miyako in a whole new light.

The thought made her freeze, and she stopped moving long enough for Miyako to get a punch in. It struck her in the shoulder, sending her stumbling back. Yuzu stopped from falling just in time, staring up at Miyako's grin of triumph.

"How do you like that?" asked Miyako. "Just like last time, isn't it?"

Her shoulder hurt. It stung. But it didn't hurt the same way it had last time. She could tell Miyako was trying to intimidate her. But at that moment, she didn't feel fear. She felt nervous. She didn't want to get hit again. But the consuming fear she had felt earlier…that was somehow gone. She couldn't see Miyako as the monster she had played herself up to be.

She just saw the girl.

And in that instant, she understood what this was all about.

"…_Now you are in control." _

"I was so afraid of you, Aoyagi-san," Yuzu admitted, as Miyako came sweeping in with another punch. She stepped to the inside, catching the arm with both of her hands and pivoting around quickly. Miyako fell to the ground with a scream of anger, hot tears in her eyes. Yuzu frowned down at her, releasing her hand. "…Now, I think I just feel sorry for you."

She stepped back. Miyako got to her feet, her fists clenched. "You little bitch!" she screeched, tears in her eyes. "Fight me seriously!"

"I am fighting you seriously," she said, watching Miyako. "But you're not fighting me seriously. You're treating this like a game, like a contest to establish some pecking order that I don't care about. This isn't a stage for you to show off how much better you are. This is serious, Aoyagi-san. Look at them." She gestured at the audience, stretching her hand out towards them. "In a few months, we'll be joining them, and _this_—protecting all of this—will be our responsibility."

"Don't treat this like a game."

Miyako's expression grew uglier throughout Yuzu's speech, her fists clenching. "You think you're so much better, don't you?" she sneered. "You don't know what I went through to get here."

"You're right," said Yuzu. "I don't. I don't know your past, and I don't know anything about you. But I know what it's like to be second best." She took a deep breath, meeting Miyako's eyes. She couldn't believe she had been scared of her for so long. At that moment, Yuzu understood. She understood something about Miyako, and she understood something about herself as well. "I know what it's like to want to prove yourself, to feel like you have to do better. I know what it's like to wish you were someone else."

She extended a hand towards Miyako, her eyes softening. "You don't have to be anyone but yourself, Aoyagi-san," she said. "So please. Let's stop this and finish our exam."

Miyako's expression filled with venom as she looked down at Yuzu's hand, swatting it away. "Don't patronize me, Kurosaki," she said. "I'll finish this fight right now!"

Yuzu's eyes hardened as Miyako stepped forward, her fist pulled back. "Fine," she said, stepping back and moving smoothly out of the way. "If that's the way you want it to be."

Yuzu's foot touched the ground lightly as she landed, and then she pushed forward, pushing off of her back foot and rushing in towards Miyako, her hands up. With one hand, she moved downwards, catching Miyako's outstretched arm by the elbow and sliding down to her wrist, getting her off balance. The other hand moved up for a strike, using the flat of her hand to clip the other girl under the chin. She pulled Miyako's outstretched arm to her hip as Miyako stumbled back, turning on her hip and pulling her to the ground. Miyako fell with a thud, landing on the cold floor of the testing grounds.

Yuzu let out the breath she was holding, taking a step back as silence fell over the arena. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her eyes wide. She could see her breath misting in front of her face.

"Senda-sensei…" she said quietly, knowing that the woman was standing behind her. "I think we're done."

"I think so too," said Senda, nodding as she frowned down at Miyako. The other girl was staring straight up, her eyes wide. "Is the committee satisfied?"

The group of hakuda teachers nodded in turn. Yuzu bowed, accepting Jungetsu back from Senda-sensei. She slipped her zanpakuto back into her sword belt, a frown on her face.

_**You didn't falter…**_wrote Jungetsu on the inside of her mind. _**That's good.**_

_Yeah…_replied Yuzu. _But let's not do that again._

_**We may have to in the future. Be aware of what you're capable of.**_

Yuzu let her hand fall away from Jungetsu's hilt, offering Miyako a polite bow as the other girl got to her feet, accepting her zanpakuto from Senda-sensei. She scowled at Yuzu, not returning the bow as she slipped her zanpakuto back into her sword belt. Yuzu turned, heading for the exit.

That was when Miyako let out a sudden shout of fury, freeing her zanpakuto from its sheath and rushing at her.

"AOYAGI!" shouted Senda-sensei.

Yuzu's eyes widened and she turned her head just in time to see Miyako bearing down on her, her sword upraised. The other girl pulled back her sword, preparing to slash in a wide arc. The audience gasped collectively, and Yuzu was dimly aware of the sound of motion, of robes rustling as people jumped to their feet and shouted warnings.

Her heart beat in her chest. There was no time to think. There was only enough time to move.

She turned around fully, disappearing from sight. Just as Miyako pulled her sword back to the farthest point, Yuzu reappeared, flash stepping so that she was right in front of her. There was a pause as Yuzu appeared in the air, their eyes meeting. Miyako stared down at her, her eyes wide. Yuzu's eyes darkened, her hands up. One of her arms crossed over Miyako's sword arm, the other resting on her shoulder.

As Yuzu's foot touched the ground, she turned, her hands cutting down. The motion sent Miyako tumbling to the ground, landing flat on her back. Yuzu finished the turn, landing smoothly on the ground.

Miyako braced both arms on either side of her and tried to get up, but found herself stopped by the tip of Jungetsu's blade.

Yuzu stared down at her from the other end of the sword, her eyes hard. She remembered being on the floor of the Kuchiki Manor in this same position, stopped by a different blade. Byakuya's voice still rang in her mind.

"_Is there anything you can do from here?" _

"We're done here, Aoyagi-san," she said quietly as Senda-sensei reached them. The dark-haired teacher scowled down at Miyako, then turned her eyes over towards Yuzu.

"Stand down, Kurosaki," she said.

Yuzu nodded, slowly sheathing Jungetsu and taking a step back. Senda-sensei raised her hands over Miyako, a disappointed expression on her face.

"_Bakudo # 1," _she said quietly. _"Sai." _

Miyako immediately found herself forced up to her knees, her hands bound behind her as her head fell forward. Senda picked up her discarded zanpakuto, sliding the blade back into its sheath. She glanced back at Yuzu, who was watching carefully.

"You can go," she said.

"Hai."

Yuzu nodded once, turning away.

As she walked towards the exit, she looked up, her eyes scanning the stands. The crowd still watched, some of them already on their feet and with varying degrees of surprise and approval on their faces. She caught sight of Ichigo, Karin, Isshin and the others—all the gathered members of her family, seated in one row and watching her. She caught sight of Rukia and Hitsugaya, of Abarai-taicho and all of the usual people who would come out to see their matches.

Her eyes traveled up, further up the stands, finally landing on Byakuya.

He stood at the top of the stands staring down at her, the wind blowing his scarf around him as he looked down at the field. One of his hands was at his zanpakuto's hilt, Senbonzakura already halfway out of the scabbard. As Yuzu watched, his eyes met hers.

He nodded once in approval, his expression unchanged as he slid the sword slowly back into its sheath.

The crowd relaxed and started to cheer, and in that moment, Yuzu felt like she was on top of the world.

* * *

><p>The sun had set by the time the assembled group started to leave the restaurant, filtering out slowly one after another. It was Seishin who had said that Yuzu's performance today needed to be celebrated, and had taken them all out to eat on the Ankoujin's dime. The group had consisted of their family, along with the usual crowd of people that tagged along—Toshiro, Kohaku, Renji, Rukia. It had started as a simple dinner party, but by the end of the night, Isshin and Seishin were making drunken wagers, Ichigo and Renji were arguing about something nobody could discern and Rukia was growing slowly more exasperated with the both of them. The Academy students had more or less faded into the background and had slowly begun leaving the room.<p>

Kohaku left first, claiming that she had an examination in a few days that she needed to prepare for. About half an hour later, Yuzu excused herself, claiming to be tired. It was obvious that she was, and both Karin and Masa knew that she hadn't had much sleep in the days leading up to the fight. The others let her leave, but the party went on, by this point having forgotten that she was the guest of honor. Masa offered to walk her home.

That left Karin to find her way back by herself, twenty minutes later when she felt ready to go.

"I can't believe she didn't tell me she was training with Kuchiki!" said Karin as she walked. Toshiro walked beside her, a thoughtful frown on his face. He had been that way all night, as if there was something on his mind and he was trying to decide whether or not it needed to stay there. She would have thought he was drunk, if he hadn't been with her almost all night.

He glanced over at her. "Would you have agreed with it if she had told you?"

"No," replied Karin, stretching her arms up and lacing her fingers together at the back of her head as she stretched lazily. "But I'd know about it at least."

"You can't really blame her for keeping secrets," said Toshiro. "You didn't tell her about the shinigami."

"Yeah," said Karin, her eyes growing far off as she lowered her arms to her sides. "I guess I'm not really one to talk."

Toshiro said nothing, and they walked in silence for a moment.

"But still, it's something, isn't it?" asked Karin as they rounded the corner. "I mean…Good for her, right? It worked out great."

"You've both improved a lot since you arrived here," replied Toshiro distractedly. Karin frowned, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as they walked. He followed along beside her, not quite looking at her. His eyes were distant, as if his mind was somewhere else.

He did seem to be distant around her lately. Dimly, she wondered if things would ever go back to the way they were. She hated this feeling of uncertainty…of not knowing how to talk to him sometimes. She would have liked things to stay the way they had always been…

But at the same time, there was something—maybe some small part of her that would admit that she wanted to see where this was going. That her uncertain feelings for him terrified her, but at the same time, she wanted to know more.

Did she?

She didn't know what she wanted. Not really.

But she knew that her hand found his somehow as they rounded another corner and neared the Academy. And she knew that his hand was still as warm now as it had been a few months ago, before her zanjutsu match. She knew that holding his hand somehow made her heart beat quicker, made her feel warmer, made her think that, yes, she did want to know more about how this could turn out. She knew that even though he didn't really turn to look at her or acknowledge it verbally, he didn't pull away, his fingers closing lightly around hers.

They walked like that for a while longer before reaching the Academy. Karin realized in the back of her mind that this would be one of the last times he would walk her home. Soon, it would be time for graduation, and then…what? She knew he had offered to give her a spot in the Tenth Division. That offer was still at the back of her mind as they stopped walking, and he turned towards her.

Did she want that?

To be an officer in Toshiro's squad…to see him every day…to fight beside him…

…to be subordinate to him.

Her expression hardened slightly at the thought, some portion of her recoiling at the idea. He seemed to notice, because he frowned, looking over at her.

"Karin?" he asked.

"It's nothing," she said. The two of them were standing outside the Shino Academy gates. The school had been her home for six years. Could she find a home in the Tenth? Did she want to?

"Well…" he said, turning towards her and meeting her eyes. "Good night."

"Yeah," she replied, nodding once and keeping her doubts to herself for now. "Good night, Toshiro."

She moved to pull away slowly, but his hand lingered, holding on to hers as if he was loathe to let go. His fingers traced the back of her palm and he looked up at her. There was a question in his eyes, and the intensity in them took her breath away for a moment. Her heart raced in her chest. A part of her wanted this, wanted him, but the rest of her was scared. Scared of these feelings that were so foreign to her, so alien. She didn't know what to think, how to feel. So she stood frozen there, like a deer in the headlights, staring at him.

Then he began to lean in, and terrified won out.

Karin's eyes widened, and she took a quick step back, pulling her hand out of his grasp.

"I—," she began, shaking her head. "I—I can't—."

Toshiro froze, staring at her as if he had only now realized what he had been about to do. "Karin…" he began. "I'm—."

Karin shook her head. It was too much. These feelings, these emotions were too much. She flashstepped out of his sight, reappearing past the gates of the Academy, her heart beating so loud in her chest that she could hear it.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	35. Time goes on

**A/N:** Four more little chapters to go! (Counting this one and the epilogue). I'm so excited!

This chapter is a bit of a filler chap, since it's just here to show the passage of time so we don't awkwardly jump from February to late-April. But I hope it's still good. Hitsugaya and Karin's thoughts aren't shown from their POV, because I want to keep that a little secret till later. ^^ I promise you, though, the next two to three chapters will have HitsuKarin moments and their conclusion in it (the last chapter is kind of neutral to any pairs).

I'm not too happy with how this chapter turned out, but…oh well. You have your good days and your bad ones, I guess. I tried to go with a lighter tone for this chapter.

Next chapter, OFFICER INTERVIEWS! God, I've been waiting so long for this moment, haha.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

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><p><strong>Chapter 35: Time goes on<strong>

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><p>February passed in a flurry of hakuda examinations and kidou practices. It was the shortest month of the year, and it certainly felt like it, because the hakuda exams were over before they knew it. Once the examinations were done, kidou practice started in earnest, and time slots had been assigned for the individual kidou exams in March. Masa, Kohaku, Karin, and Yuzu found themselves more often than not sequestered into small kidou study groups all over campus.<p>

Yuzu hadn't seen a lot of Karin lately, aside from when they would practice kidou. When she did see her twin, Karin always seemed to have a lot on her mind. The older Kurosaki twin wouldn't say anything, but Yuzu had the sneaking suspicion that one Hitsugaya Toshiro was the reason behind it.

"I wonder which spell I'll perform…" said Yuzu with a frown, flipping through the kidou manual for an appropriate spell to practice for her three chosen spells. She and Kohaku were sitting on the floor of her bedroom, several kidou manuals and textbooks from their six years of study lying out on the floor in front of them. To Masa and Karin, the kidou qualifiers were terrifying prospects. To Yuzu, they were a welcome break. Zanjutsu and hakuda had been infinitely more frightening.

"I know which spell you _want _to perform," said Kohaku, giving her a sly look.

"Oh?" asked Yuzu, looking up. "What spell is it?"

"Bakudo # 61! Rikujokoro!" said Kohaku dramatically, holding her hands up in front of her. Yuzu's face turned red.

"Ko—Kohaku-chan!" she yelled.

Kohaku burst into laughter, sitting back down.

"Mou, I am never playing truth or dare with you again," said Yuzu, with a disgruntled frown, picking up her textbook and flipping through it.

"Well, you know you want to," said Kohaku, lying back against the folded up futon. She picked up her kidou textbook.

"Even if I did, kidou spells above 45 are forbidden to Academy students," said Yuzu with a frown, flipping through her textbook and marking down another spell. "Besides, I don't think I could cast that one even if I wanted to. It has a very complicated reiatsu flow system, and a relatively short incantation to match its high level."

"So what you're saying is, you've thought about it," said Kohaku, grinning at her friend. "Anyway, why are spells above 45 forbidden? That sounds like a dumb rule. We're allowed to mess around with shikai and shunpo, so why should kidou be any different?"

"It actually makes a lot of sense," said Yuzu. "You see, high-level kidou spells are—."

A knock came at the door. The two of them paused, looking up as it opened. Karin poked her head into the room, a frown on her face as her eyes landed on Yuzu. She looked tired, as if she hadn't been doing a whole lot of sleeping. Karin had been a little out of it since the hakuda exam. Yuzu knew that it had something to do with Hitsugaya, considering the two of them left the restaurant together, and there were very few things that could get Karin this way.

"Hey," she said. "Got a minute?"

Yuzu and Kohaku exchanged glances. Kohaku gave an exaggerated sigh, lying back on the floor and holding her textbook over her head. "Don't mind me," she said. "I'm gonna go memorize the Soukatsui incantation for the hundredth time."

"I'll be back in a second," said Yuzu, getting to her feet. "Kohaku-chan, you should also review Byakurai. That seems like the kind of basic first-year spell they'll give us."

"And when you say Byakurai, what you're really thinking is—."

"_Kohaku-chan!"_

* * *

><p>Yuzu sighed, shutting the door behind her. Karin looked up at her from where she was leaning against the wall, frowning at her twin. "What was that all about?" she asked.<p>

"Nothing," said Yuzu, shaking her head. "Kohaku-chan's been like that since the hakuda match." She gave Karin a small, concerned smile. "What's on your mind?" she asked. A better question would probably have been 'who's on your mind?', considering the way Karin folded her arms and glanced off to the side.

"What do you think?" asked Karin.

"I think it has something to do with Hitsugaya-kun and whatever happened after my hakuda test," said Yuzu, frowning. She walked up to her sister. "Karin-chan, what happened now?"

Karin sighed, running a hand through her hair and pulling some of the strands out of her ponytail. "I don't know," she admitted in frustration, laying her head back against the wall. "…Just…_gah_—I'm an idiot. He—." She scowled, looking away. "He might have tried to kiss me. I freaked and backed out of it, and now he won't even talk to me."

"Have you tried to talk to him?" asked Yuzu.

Karin snorted. "Today. That didn't end well. I ended up stammering like an idiot, and he excused himself and walked off. I looked for him the day after, but he ran off on some living world mission and just got back." She rolled her eyes. "Awfully convenient timing for a living world mission."

"You think he's avoiding you?" asked Yuzu.

"Well, I mean—what would _you _think in this situation?" asked Karin. She clenched her fist. "Damn it!" she swore, slamming the side of her fist against the wall. "Of course he'd avoid me. I rejected him, didn't I?"

"And you didn't mean it?" asked Yuzu, frowning as she watched her sister.

Karin shook her head. "I don't…I don't know _what _I meant," she said. "I just…I panicked, okay? But I know I don't want _this_. The two of us not talking to each other…" Her eyes grew far off, and for a moment, Yuzu felt a flash of worry that she might start crying. Karin hadn't cried since their mother had died, so it was almost an impossibility, but then again, she had never seen Karin like this before.

Karin had always been decisive. Yuzu knew that she had trouble expressing her feelings, but she had never seen Karin so confused, so caught up in a situation…and so possibly in love.

"He's my best friend, and now he won't even fucking speak to me." It hurt, to hear the strain in her twin's voice as she spoke. To know that what was going on with Karin wasn't a problem she could just soothe away. Karin shook her head. "Why am I such a screw up? You wouldn't have messed up like this, would you?"

"I've never been in a situation like this, Karin-chan," said Yuzu, frowning.

"Yeah, but if you were, you'd know what you want. You'd know what you feel." She folded her arms again. "I can't be like you. I can't tell you how I feel right now…I don't even know that myself."

"But Hitsugaya-kun doesn't want me, Karin-chan," said Yuzu, frowning at her. "It's you he wants."

"And that's the craziest part of it all," said Karin, tilting her head back and staring at the ceiling. "What does he see in me anyway?"

"You're strong," said Yuzu. "You're decisive. You don't take 'no' for an answer. You stand up for yourself and what you believe in. What's not to like?"

Karin shook her head. "I wish I could make a decision now," she said. "What do I do, Yuzu? How do I fix this?"

"Karin-chan…" Yuzu hesitated, taking a deep breath. "You just need to find out for yourself what you really feel about him. And then, once you know that, I think you and Hitsugaya-kun just really need to sit down and talk about this, and find out what you both want and where this is going…"

"I don't know…" said Karin.

"No, you do," said Yuzu, shaking her head. "I really think you do, Karin-chan. I think you just don't want to admit it."

Karin frowned, her eyes focused on the ground for a few long moments. She sighed, shaking her head. "Thanks," she said. "I think…I think I'll go think about this a little longer."

"Good luck," said Yuzu with a smile. "I know you'll make the right choice."

Karin frowned, straightening up. She slipped her hands into the sleeves of her robes. "Oi, you still helping me and Masa with kidou?" she asked as she turned away.

"Of course," said Yuzu with a nod. "Just let me study for a bit myself, and I'll meet you both later."

Karin nodded in response, walking away. Yuzu sighed, letting out the breath she was holding. She turned around, heading back into her room. Who would have thought things could get this complicated.

Karin and Hitsugaya…

Now _that _was a story of a lifetime. And it would probably take a lifetime, if those two didn't start talking to each other. She thought back to how she and Rangiku-san had made them stop fighting in first year, and wondered if they couldn't orchestrate something like that again.

"Done?" asked Kohaku as Yuzu stepped back into the room.

"Mm-hmm," said Yuzu with a small smile, pulling the kidou textbook over to herself. "Where were we?"

"You were telling me why kidou spells above 45 are forbidden to Academy students."

"Right," said Yuzu. "It's because of the amount of reiatsu being drawn and manipulated by those spells. There's a huge potential for error, and—."

She frowned, the both of them looking up as a knock came at the door. Yuzu and Kohaku exchanged glances.

"Come in," said Kohaku after a while.

The sliding door slid open, the captain of the Tenth Division poking his head in. "…Sorry to interrupt," he said, frowning uncertainly at them. His eyes landed on Yuzu. "Um…can I talk to you for a moment?"

Yuzu sighed. "I'll be right outside, Hitsugaya-kun," she said, setting her textbook aside.

He nodded awkwardly, closing the door and stepping away. Once he was gone, Yuzu got to her feet, sighing heavily and tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear.

"You should charge for this," said Kohaku with a frown as Yuzu slipped her shoes back on and made her way to the door.

She gave Kohaku a tired smile. "How much do you think I could make?" she asked as she left the room.

* * *

><p>March gave way to April, and the written exams started. Yuzu hadn't heard much about Karin and Toshiro, but with the written exams on the horizon, it looked like Karin had managed to put aside even that, the four of them immersing themselves in study. Tempers began to run short as testing week approached, and Yuzu, Karin, and Kohaku had walked through the women's dormitory to see fights, shouting matches, breakdowns, insane review sessions, and once, two girls trying to convince another that seppuku was not an acceptable reaction to a bad grade in history.<p>

But finally, the written exams ended, and the school went into a three day long period of anticipation as all the tests were graded and the final grades calculated. In the first five classes, the tension was almost palpable. The grades in the written and practical exams would determine who in the student body had the potential to graduate as an officer.

When Furutani-sensei entered the homeroom classroom with a sheaf of papers in his hand, he was immediately surrounded by a swarm of Class 2 students, talking at him from all sides and reaching for the papers. He swatted them away angrily, although by now they knew him well enough to know that there was no malice in the actions as he stepped away from them, raising his hand up.

"Alright!" he yelled. "Alright! Settle down, you overachievers!"

The class obediently clustered in the area in front of him, taking their seats on the floor. Furutani sighed, running a hand through his hair as he held up the papers in his hand. "I've got the officer interview invitations here," he said. "Grades will be posted this afternoon, so you can go peek at those if you like. Now, you should know that ten of you qualified for interviews—as did everyone in Class 1. Except Aoyagi." He coughed a word that sounded suspiciously like _'bitch_' into his sleeve, causing the class to laugh.

"So…" said Furutani, holding up the first sheet. The class immediately fell silent. "The people who got suckered into taking seated officer positions are—Nozawa."

Nozawa stood up, a grin on his face as the class applauded. He accepted the sheet of paper from Furutani-sensei with a polite bow.

"Kanagi…by some gods-forsaken miracle."

Another boy from Yuzu's class jumped up, snatching the paper out of Furutani's hand. He let out a whoop of joy, thrusting his fist into the air. The class laughed as he ran back to his seat. Furutani sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and glancing down at the next name.

"Iwase," he called.

Kohaku jumped up from Yuzu's side amid cheers, taking a step forward and bowing theatrically at the class before accepting her sheet of paper. Furutani raised an eyebrow at her display. Yuzu clapped appreciatively, smiling as Kohaku sat back down beside her.

"Azuma."

A girl from the back of the room got up, shyly accepting the sheet of paper from Furutani as the class clapped politely.

"The terrible trio—Kurosawa, Uchikawa, and Takazuki."

Three boys jumped up, patting each other on the backs and shoving each other playfully as they made their way forward. Furutani muttered something like 'good riddance' under his breath, at which the class laughed again.

"Izuki and Honda."

A pair of girls stood up this time, grinning and joking with each other as they accepted the papers from Furutani. They smiled and waved at the class, inciting another round of cheers and celebrations as they sat down. Furutani smiled faintly, holding up the last sheet of paper.

"And last but not least, Kurosaki. As if we weren't all expecting it."

Yuzu got to her feet as Kohaku nudged her in the side, accepting the sheet of paper that Furutani handed out to her with a grateful smile. The class cheered, and a couple of people patted her on the back as she returned to her seat.

"Now for the half of you that didn't get called, I'll let you in on a little Eleventh Division secret," said Furutani as Yuzu sat down. "Take note of those people. If you wind up in the same Division as them, all you have to do is beat them up publicly to get their seat."

The class laughed. "Hey, go ahead!" said Kohaku, turning her head so she could face the majority of them. She grinned. "I'll take on _all _comers!"

"That's the spirit, Iwase!" said Furutani. "If your zanjutsu were better, you could make Eleventh."

Kohaku made a face. "And get stuck with a bunch of smelly, brawling guys all the time?" she asked. "Come on, sensei, get with the program!"

Another laugh from the class. Yuzu giggled at the stricken look on Furutani's face, shaking her head.

"Alright, out you ungrateful bastards," said Furutani, waving his hand at them. "I'll see you for graduation practices."

"Hai, sensei!" the class chorused, getting to their feet and slowly leaving the room.

"What time d'you have?" asked Kohaku as they left, leaning over Yuzu's shoulder to get a better look at the invitation.

"April 17th," said Yuzu. "Ten AM. I think I'm right after Karin-chan. They got their invitations yesterday. Masa-kun has a slot on the sixteenth."

"They gave _Karin _an eight AM interview slot?" asked Kohaku in disbelief. "Are they deliberately sabotaging her?"

"She's not happy with it either," said Yuzu. "That's why I remember it. What about you, Kohaku-chan?"

"Ah, eighteenth, three PM," said Kohaku.

"Hmm…so there's a slim chance you'll be awake by then?" asked Yuzu, smiling.

"Okay, okay, I deserved that one," said Kohaku, waving the comment off. "But, wow…officer interviews. Things are starting to get real…"

"Yeah…" said Yuzu with a frown, staring down at her sheet of paper. Officer interviews…Standing alone in a room full of captains and vice-captains, answering whatever questions they threw at you. She shuddered, then shook her head.

It would be alright. She just had to remain confident, and keep a cool head.

Easier said than done.

"I wonder who'll show up for our interviews."

"I know who you _want _to show up," said Kohaku, slyly.

"_Kohaku-chan!"_

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>


	36. Of moral character

**A/N: **I couldn't resist. I've had this chapter in the back of my mind for _years_, and I needed to get it out on paper. So, yes. Two updates in one day. But in fairness, over half of the last chapter was written yesterday.

Three more, three more. I see myself…potentially, possibly getting this story done by the end of the weekend, but don't quote me on that. It depends solely on my continuing to have at least 2 hours of free time not otherwise able to be spent in social activities or playing Persona 3. And then I'm taking a short break until the sequel.

HitsuKarin will be resolved next chapter, so get ready for that. And the chapter after…the squad assignments will be revealed!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 36: Of moral character<strong>

* * *

><p>"Coming of age ceremony?" repeated Yuzu with a frown on her face.<p>

"Yeah," replied Karin, walking with her twin through the Academy grounds. It was the sixteenth of April, the day before both of their interviews, and the two of them had been enjoying some time off as their classmates scrambled to get ready. Karin laced her fingers together behind her neck, staring up at the sky. "It's like the Soul Society version of Coming of Age Day back in the living world. Since age doesn't matter as much here. Masa was telling me about it."

"Sou ka…" said Yuzu, frowning. She pressed a finger to her lips, tilting her head up and looking at the sky. "So it's like…when you become a shinigami, you're considered of age?"

"Something like that," said Karin, shrugging. "Anyway, it's scheduled for the night after interview week. Apparently everyone who gets an interview is invited, and then there's some sort of tradition where we all pick our divisions. You can ask Masa if you want to know more."

"I'm sure we'll hear more about it as it gets closer," said Yuzu.

"Probably," said Karin with a shrug. The two of them entered the building, heading towards the empty classroom where the interviews were being conducted. Masaryu's was the last interview of the day, so the corridor outside the classroom was empty. As Karin watched, the door to the room opened, Byakuya stepping out. He glanced once at Karin and Yuzu, before turning the corner and walking away. Byakuya was followed by Zaraki, who gave them a shark-like grin as he walked past, Yachiru waving at them from over his shoulder. Renji followed, grinning and nodding at them as he walked out.

The next captain to make an appearance was Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Karin froze, watching as Toshiro left the interview room. His green eyes met hers for a moment, and she tensed. There was an expression in his eyes that she couldn't read. Regret? Guilt? Uncertainty?

He looked away, walking past her, and Karin slowly exhaled. From beside her, Yuzu frowned, stepping closer to her twin. Karin already knew what she wanted to say, and as much as she hated to admit it, Yuzu would be right. It was time to talk to Toshiro, and she would have to do it soon.

But not now. Not when she had an eight AM interview to prepare for. She and Yuzu stood aside, watching as Ukitake and Kyoraku left the room together, followed by Kurotsuchi Nemu. Karin glanced over at Yuzu, raising an eyebrow. Yuzu stared back at Karin with wide eyes, holding up seven fingers.

Soifon was next, followed by Sasakibe-fukutaicho of the First Division. Yuzu added another two fingers to her count and Karin's brows rose. When Komamura and Shuuhei left the room, the twins exchanged glances.

Finally, a pale-faced Masaryu appeared, Ichigo following along behind him. Karin glanced down the hall to make sure the other officers were out of earshot, before turning towards her cousin.

"Holy crap," she said. "Did _everyone _come out to see you?"

Masa looked like he was trying hard to stay dignified, but his face was pale and Karin could have sworn he was shaking slightly. "U-Unohana-taicho failed to make an appearance," he responded.

"No surprises there," said Karin. Masa had passed his kidou exam, but just barely.

Ichigo sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "That's what you get for having a name like that, I guess," he said, patting Masa once on the back. "You did well, though." He glanced over at Yuzu and Karin. "You two ready for tomorrow?"

Karin shrugged. "More or less," she said.

"I think so," replied Yuzu, frowning.

"I can't wait till this crap is over with though," said Karin, stretching.

"You're telling me," said Ichigo. "Try going to twelve of these and tell me how you feel about them." He sighed, folding his arms. "Anyway, you two know I can't pick you for the Fifth, right?"

They nodded. Both of them had already heard the rules.

"I'll come by tomorrow anyway and watch," he said. "For…you know, moral support and all that."

"Thanks, Ichi-nii," said Yuzu, smiling slightly. She frowned, glancing at Masaryu. "Masa-kun…are you alright?"

Masaryu stared down at his hands. They were shaking. "I—," he began. "I think I'm just—."

Karin sighed. "Come on," she said, grabbing his wrists. "You obviously need a drink or something. See ya, Ichi-nii."

Ichigo frowned, watching as Karin dragged Masa off. He glanced over at Yuzu. "She knows she has an eight o'clock interview tomorrow, right?"

Yuzu gave her brother an apologetic smile. "I'll make sure Masa-kun is the only one drinking," she promised, running off to follow the two of them.

* * *

><p>"Ongetsu's a scythe," said Karin, taking the scythe with both hands and swinging it experimentally. "It can use Getsuga Tenshou. That's about all there is to it."<p>

"Is it a kidou-type?" asked Zaraki-taichou.

"Well, if it is, I'm screwed," said Karin. Her kidou grades had been less than stellar. Still, there was some consolation in that she hadn't done as badly as Masaryu. The spells she knew actually _worked _most of the time.

"Kurosaki-san…" said Onabara-sensei, a reprimand in his tone.

"Sorry," said Karin. "No, it's not a kidou-type, as far as I know."

She stood in front of an assembled group of captains and vice-captains, in the middle of the interview classroom. The officer interviews were held in one of the empty amphitheater-style classrooms, and Karin stood at the bottom where the teacher would normally stand, the officers sitting on the first and second row of desks.

Onabara-sensei nodded to tell her she was done, and she let Ongetsu go back to his unreleased form, sheathing the katana and turning towards the assembled group. She waited for the questions to begin, knowing that they would start with Soifon and move down the line.

It was too early in the morning for this.

"Are you capable of putting family and friends aside for the sake of a mission?" asked Soifon, looking up at her.

"I don't know," admitted Karin. Onabara-sensei had advised honesty, and that was one thing Karin could provide in spades, as long as nobody asked her about her feelings for Toshiro. "I've never had to. I don't want to ever have to, though."

Soifon nodded, writing something down. "Abarai," she said quietly.

"How would you feel about a Division kickball team?"

"Make it soccer, and I'm game," said Karin with a grin.

"We might be able to work something out," said Renji, grinning back. "Now, what's my name?"

"Abarai Renji."

"So, it's not Red Pineapple?"

"No. That's your nickname."

Renji's grin disappeared. Karin's only widened. She was definitely starting to feel more relaxed now.

"Oi, Ichigo," said Renji, scowling over at her brother.

"Got nothing," said Ichigo. "I'll pass." He nodded over towards Byakuya. Karin turned towards the Sixth Division captain.

"How important is it to you that order is maintained in Soul Society?" he asked coolly, straightening out the papers in front of him.

Karin shrugged. "Laws and stuff are kind of important," she said. "But rules and etiquette…not so much."

Byakuya frowned, writing something down. "Iba-fukutaicho?" he asked.

"Do you think the men of the shinigami should have their own association?" he asked.

"Why should I care?" asked Karin, frowning at him. "I'm not a man."

Obviously, that was not the right answer. Tetsuzaemon frowned, writing something down and glancing over at the man on his right. "Kyouraku-taicho?" he asked.

"…Eto…how much can you drink?" asked Shunsui, grinning.

"…Some," said Karin, shrugging. "Not my favorite pastime though."

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is actual work to you?"

"Maybe a 7?" asked Karin, frowning.

"Really? That high?" asked Shunsui. He sighed, writing something down before glancing over at Toshiro. "Hitsugaya-taicho?"

Karin paused, meeting Toshiro's eyes. He looked up at her from his seat between Kyoraku and Zaraki. He looked…tired, Karin realized, as he watched her. No…not tired. Resigned? "How well do you know the living world?" he asked.

"…I was there about six years ago," said Karin. "Pretty well."

Toshiro nodded, a frown on his face. "Zaraki-taicho?" he asked, leaning back in his seat.

Karin exhaled slowly, her eyes moving towards the large Eleventh Division captain. Zaraki grinned at her. "How much fighting do you wanna do?" he asked.

Karin shrugged. "Doesn't really matter to me," she said. "Don't know if I'd want to fight _all _the time, but I'm not afraid of a fight."

"D'you care if your Division's full of guys?"

Karin snorted. "Your fifth seat's girlier than me," she said.

Zaraki barked out a laugh. "Kurotsuchi," he said.

"How do you feel about being a test subject?" asked Mayuri with a smile, lacing his fingers together on top of the table.

"I refuse," said Karin, flatly.

Mayuri's face fell. "Ukitake-taicho," he said.

"Would you prefer a Division to be powerful, or close-knit?" asked the sickly captain, giving her a warm smile. Karin frowned, thinking this question over seriously. Out of all the captains, she found that she respected Ukitake-taicho a lot. Apparently he had that effect on people.

"…It depends," said Karin. "I mean…I'd like my Division to have some sort of strength, but it's important for people to like each other too. Both would be nice, but I think I'd rather have it close-knit. What's the point in fighting all the time if you can't even trust the people you're fighting with?"

Ukitake nodded, accepting her answer. "No further questions, Onabara-sensei," he said.

"You can go," said Onabara, turning towards her. "The next interview will be at ten o'clock. It will be of Kurosaki Yuzu, from Class 2."

Karin nodded, bowing quickly at the assembled group of captains before leaving the room. Once she was outside, she exhaled in relief, leaning against the wall.

The door opened, and Toshiro walked out. He glanced at her, and for a moment, Karin thought he was going to talk to her. The two of them stared at each other for a few long moments as Karin tried to work up the nerve to say something.

By the time she thought of something to say, though, he had started to walk, turning the corner and disappearing down the hallway.

* * *

><p>"<em>Your turn," <em>Karin had told her as Furutani-sensei came out of the room to call her.

Yuzu took a deep breath, nodding at Kohaku as her friend wished her luck and stepping into the interview room. She stood at the front of the room, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves as her eyes passed over the assembled group of captains and vice-captains. They were seated in order of their Division, and she caught sight of Renji, Unohana-taicho, Ichigo, Byakuya, Nanao, Shuuhei, Hitsugaya, Mayuri, and Ukitake.

It was less than the crowd that had come out to see Masaryu, but it was still a sizable group.

She slowly let out the breath she was holding, nodding towards Furutani-sensei and bowing to the assembled group.

"State your name and class," said Furutani-sensei voice that told her he was bored with all the ceremony already.

"Kurosaki Yuzu," she said, glad that her voice didn't falter. "From Class 2."

"Kurosaki Yuzu," said Furutani-sensei. "You've achieved shikai, correct?"

She nodded. "Yes," she said. "That's correct."

"Walk us through what you know about your shikai."

Yuzu nodded, taking a deep breath and unsheathing Jungetsu. She held the blade up in front of her, resting her hand over it. She closed her eyes. "Reflect, Jungetsu," she commanded. The sword shone with a white light, forming into a fan. Yuzu caught the other end of the light as it formed a second fan, the light fading away and revealing the fan blades. Nanao frowned, pushing her glasses up.

"The sword's release command is 'reflect'?" she asked.

"Hai, Ise-fukutaicho," said Yuzu, nodding.

"Do you know why that is?" asked Nanao.

"I suspect that it may have something to do with its nature, but I'm not entirely sure," said Yuzu.

Nanao nodded, folding her hands on top of the table. Yuzu took a deep breath, before continuing. This part, she had expected, so she had had some time to go over it with Furutani-sensei and rehearse. "Jungetsu isn't a dual-type zanpakuto in the truest sense. She only has one zanpakuto spirit, but it's released into two fans."

"Like my Kazeshini," commented Hisagi, nodding.

"Hai," said Yuzu. She turned one of Jungetsu's fans around to show them the back. "The fans have iron tines, which are actually hollow on the inside. This compresses and channels my reiatsu, forming the fan blades at the end and allowing me to use Getsuga Tenshou."

"Have you learned any other techniques with your shikai?" asked Ukitake.

Yuzu shook her head. "No, Ukitake-taichou. Just that one."

The assembled group of officers wrote things down. Furutani looked over at them. "Are there any other questions?" he asked. His question was met with silence, and he nodded at Yuzu.

Yuzu nodded back, allowing Jungetsu to return to her unreleased form. She sheathed the sword, turning towards the captains and vice-captains.

Now here was the part she had no idea about, besides the fact that they would go in order. Her eyes fixed on Renji first as he turned towards her. He scratched his head, a frown on his face as he watched her, obviously not sure what he was going to ask her. "Uh…how organized do you want things at your Division to be? Do you care if you join a Division that doesn't really have a specialty?"

Yuzu frowned, thinking about the question. "I consider myself a little more organized than some people, but I don't mind if the Division doesn't have a specialty yet. I think it's fine to try new things."

Renji nodded, writing something down. "Unohana-taicho?" he asked.

Unohana gave her a warm smile. "You have clinical training, don't you, Kurosaki-san?" she asked.

"Hai, Unohana-taicho," said Yuzu, nodding. "My father ran a clinic in Karakura Town before my death. My sister and I used to work as nurses there."

"How did you find that work?"

"I enjoyed it," said Yuzu, smiling. "It was important work…and it felt good to be able to help people like that."

"Describe the nature of your duties," said Unohana, writing things down.

"I used to help clean and bandage wounds, and provide care for patients who were staying overnight."

"Tell me the proper way of healing an injury with kidou."

"First, perform a reiatsu restoration to boost the injured person's reiatsu flow," recited Yuzu. "This allows the person's reiatsu to heal their injury. In the event that the wound is too large for the person's reiatsu to heal, the healer can attempt to supplement healing with their own reiatsu, or can clean and bandage the wound in the normal fashion."

Unohana smiled, letting her know that she had given the right answer. "No further questions. Kurosaki-taicho?"

"Pass," said Ichigo with a shrug. "Byakuya?"

Byakuya frowned at her brother's casual tone of address, before looking over at her. Yuzu turned towards him, meeting his eyes. She took a nervous breath.

"…Name the four pillars of moral character," Byakuya said.

She exhaled. This was a question she knew the answer to. "Reciprocity, piety, duty, and compassion," she responded.

"Out of these four…which do you believe is the most important to a shinigami?"

Yuzu paused, looking Byakuya in the eye. He watched her expectantly, waiting for her response. She knew what answer he was expecting. He would want her to say 'duty'. Duty was the most important thing to him, and he would expect the same from any of his officers.

But honesty was important as well.

"Compassion, Kuchiki-taicho," she said.

She saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise, the frown on his face growing deeper. "…Explain your answer," he said.

"All others are outward displays," said Yuzu. "They can be faked. True compassion lies in the heart. Without compassion, the other three, including duty, are just empty shells."

Byakuya stared at her for a few long moments. She stared back, doing her best to not look away. Yuzu could hear her own heart beating in her chest as he looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, his fingers idly curled around his pen.

"…No further questions," he finally said. "Ise-fukutaicho…"

Yuzu exhaled, turning towards Nanao as she asked her question.

In the end, Byakuya wrote nothing down. Yuzu wasn't sure what to make of that.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia: <strong>Renji actually did form a Sixth Division kickball team once. This is canon. XD

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Pillars of Moral Character<strong>

The pillars of moral character are basically the four things tied to Japanese concept of honor is drawn from. Reciprocity is the acknowledgement and repayment of debts (including debts of honor). Piety is showing allegiance to the people you owe debts to, if you can't repay them. Duty refers to the balancing and execution of all an individual's obligations (The Japanese concept of duty, or _giri, _is the driving force behind a lot of Byakuya's choices and actions, especially in the Soul Society arc). Finally, compassion refers to empathy for others and the recognition that all people are the same.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Coming of Age Day<strong>

The coming of age day in Japan is a day in January celebrated by all the people who recently turned 20 (the age where you're considered an adult). Since age is completely relative in Soul Society, in this story this has been moved to the day you're officially recognized as a shinigami, which makes you "of age" as far as Seireitei is concerned.


	37. Coming of age

**A/N:** Here you guys go, the penultimate chapter of Phases of the Moon. ^^ Hope you all enjoy it.

Special recognition goes to **pharaoh-90 **for being the 200th person to fave this story,and to **sayo-chan64** for having the 400th review. And to all my other reviewers and all the other 199 people who have favorited this story and continue to support it. You guys are awesome!

For the tiles in this chapter, I was imagining the little wood tiles from the Japanese version of chess. The name escapes me right now.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 37: Coming of age<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Kanpai!" <em>

The class of officers cheered, raising their glasses. Karin grinned from between Yuzu and Masaryu, lowering her cup and taking a sip. The restaurant was filled with people in the familiar robes of white, red, and blue. Today would mark the last day they would wear their Academy uniform. Tomorrow, they would be wearing civilian clothes as the other years finished up, and the week after that, they would don their shihakushos for the first time and attend the graduation ceremony.

For some of the graduating class, the ceremony would mark the day they first found out their division assignments. For those who had gone through officer interviews, that day was today.

Karin frowned, looking around as she started noticing people in black robes and white haoris making their way through the crowd, occasionally stopping to talk to one or two people. Today was the coming of age ceremony—the day when captains would traditionally make their offers to graduating officers. The way a captain did that was by presenting a candidate with a small wooden tile that had the Division's flower etched onto one side. On this night, an officer candidate could get as few as one tile and as many as five or six, depending on how many divisions were interested in them. Once they had made a decision, they would write their name on the back of the tile they chose, and drop it into a small box on the way out. They would then keep their choice a secret until graduation. The last was more for tradition than for any other reason, but apparently a lot of people respected it.

The captains worked fast. Already, she caught sight of Kohaku having a long conversation with Soifon.

"You two alright there?" asked a voice from behind them.

Karin frowned and looked up at the same time as Yuzu did. Ichigo stood there, dressed in his shihakusho and captain's haori. He had a small pouch of tiles in his hand, and she caught sight of one of the wooden tiles between his fingers, the Fifth Division lily of the valley burned onto one side.

"We're fine," said Karin. "Making your choices?"

"More or less," said Ichigo, frowning. "Hinamori and I cut the list down to about ten, but it'll depend on who accepts. What about you guys?"

Karin and Yuzu held up their empty hands in response. Masaryu came up behind them, holding up a single tile with a stylized marigold burned on it.

Third.

Was Renji passing them out like candy or something?

"It'll come," said Ichigo, shrugging. "You two had good interviews. Look, I've got to go talk to some people, but I'll see you both later, okay?"

"Sure," said Karin, as Yuzu nodded.

"Good luck, Ichi-nii," said Yuzu with a smile.

"I should go too," said Masaryu with a frown, glancing over his shoulder. Soifon watched him quietly from across the room. Karin waved him off dismissively as Ichigo left, frowning at her sister. Yuzu seemed to be…distracted somehow. She was looking around the room, as if she was searching for something. Karin's frown deepened. Or someone.

"Hello there," said a creepy voice.

Both twins turned, Yuzu's eyes widening and Karin's eyes narrowing as they saw Kurotsuchi Mayuri standing behind them, one tile in each hand. "I'm sure you're both aware of how unique your reiatsu signatures are. Half-shinigami, half-human…The Twelfth is always in need of new test subjects. You'd be making a great contribution to our research." He gave them a creepy smile, holding out the tiles. Both twins took them, Karin quick and Yuzu slightly hesitant.

Once the captain had disappeared into the crowd, the two of them exchanged glances.

"No way in hell," said Karin, tossing the tile over her shoulder.

"Agreed," said Yuzu with a sigh, doing the same.

Karin sighed, running a hand through her hair and looking around. "Oi…" said Karin, causing Yuzu to look up. "I'm gonna go walk around a bit. You going to be okay?"

"Ah—hai, Karin-chan," said Yuzu, smiling. "We'll meet up later?"

"Sounds good," said Karin, walking off.

She watched as Yuzu also disappeared into the crowd, then sighed and folded her arms, looking around at the assembled group of captains. She didn't see Toshiro here, but that wasn't a surprise. There were a lot of…taller people around that might conceal him. Not that she'd ever tell him that to his face. Toshiro was still sensitive about it. He _had _grown taller and wasn't exactly extremely short anymore, but he was her height. He'd obviously never be a giant.

"Yo, Kurosaki Karin!"

Karin looked up at the sound of her name, turning her head. Kenpachi grinned at her from across the room, lifting his hand and flicking something towards her. She reached up out of reflex, catching it smoothly in the palm of her hand. She frowned, opening her hand and staring at it. It was a small wooden tile with the Eleventh's Division's symbol on it. Karin knew that it was supposed to be a yarrow flower—an herb that could be used to stop blood flow from wounds, but it just looked like a diamond with a bunch of four-pointed shurikens cut out of it to her.

The shark-like captain of the Eleventh nodded once in her direction, still grinning. Karin grinned back in acknowledgment, pocketing the tile and continuing to move through the crowd.

Ten minutes later, she had collected tiles from Ukitake and Renji, in addition to her tile from Kenpachi. Karin juggled the wooden tiles in her hand, leaning idly against the wall as she watched the proceedings in front of her. People continued to walk around, talking to captains or, in some instances, trying to catch a captain's eye. Karin caught sight of Yuzu deep in conversation with Unohana Retsu.

"…Have you made a decision yet," asked a familiar voice. It hadn't been so familiar lately, though.

Karin looked up, her eyes fixing on Toshiro. The Tenth Division captain was watching her with that same strange look he had had at her interview, his arms folded. She shook her head, looking back at the crowd.

"Nah," she said. "Still thinking."

"I see…" replied Toshiro. He drew something from his sleeve, handing it out to her. It was a single wooden tile, the Tenth Division's daffodil etched into one side.

"I wasn't joking, you know," he said, handing it out to her. "I would like to have you in my Division, if you'll have me…"

The last part would have been a little strange coming from anyone else, but Karin understood what he was asking. He wasn't just offering her a spot in her Division. He was offering her much more than that. His eyes seemed to darken somewhat as she reached forward, her fingers lightly brushing against his as she took the tile from him. The contact sent jolts of electricity through her body, and she wasn't sure whether or not she liked the tingling feeling it caused her.

"Think about it…" said Toshiro, turning away from her and walking back into the crowd.

Karin watched him go, the wooden tile warm in her hand.

* * *

><p>An hour later, the four of them sat at one of the tables scattered around the restaurant, their tiles spread out in front of them. Karin had collected tiles from the Third, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Divisions. Kohaku had collected five tiles—one from the Second, one from the Third, one from the Fifth, one from the Tenth, and one from the Thirteenth. Yuzu frowned, poring over her own tiles and shifting them around aimlessly in front of her. Karin looked over at Yuzu, glancing over the flowered tiles in front of her twin. The Third, the Fourth, the Ninth, the Tenth, and the Thirteenth. Five tiles as well, but from the looks of it, Yuzu wasn't particularly pleased with either of them. Her hands kept going back and forth between the Fourth and the Ninth, a frown of concentration on her face.<p>

She'd lost count of Masa's tiles. It looked like Ichigo wasn't kidding. Everyone wanted the noble heir on their team. It looked like the only tiles he didn't have were Fourth—for obvious reasons—and Sixth.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen _anyone _with a Sixth tile.

Had Byakuya just _not _shown up?

She frowned, her hand lingering over the tile from the Tenth Division again. She couldn't get Toshiro's face out of her mind…or his words. She picked up the tile, turning it over and studying it from both sides.

It was a subtle thing. He'd left the ball in her court, and now he wanted to see what she would do with it.

Would she respond to him, or would she let this whole thing just go right past her, never making a decision at all…

"I've decided."

Masa's voice broke her concentration after the quiet, and the three of them all looked up, turning towards him. The Ankoujin heir gathered up all the tiles in front of him, an unusually contemplative look on his face as he got to his feet.

"Are you gonna tell us?" asked Karin, frowning at him.

Masa shook his head. "Tradition," he said. "You'll find out next week anyway. Good night."

"Night," Karin muttered, going back to her tiles as the other two wished Masaryu a good night. Kohaku frowned at him as she left, going back to her own decision.

"Not fair," she said. "He had the most options out of all of us. How come _he _decides first?"

"Someone must have offered him something good," replied Karin with a shrug. Come to think of it, Masa had disappeared for some time during the party. Karin had no idea where he went. Some of the captains liked to talk privately with their prospects. Had someone dragged him off into the hallway to talk business?

Masaryu was high-profile enough, and obviously wanted all around.

"I'm going for a walk," said Yuzu with a sigh, gathering up her own tiles and getting to her feet. "It helps me think."

"Sure, Yuzu-chan," muttered Kohaku with a frown, setting aside one tile and looking at the other four again.

"See you later," muttered Karin, continuing to stare at the Tenth Division tile.

* * *

><p>Yuzu watched as the crowd slowly began to dwindle, most of the students making their decisions and heading home for the night. She watched as Karin dropped a tile into the box and stepped outside after Hitsugaya, silently wishing her sister good luck as she clutched her small collection of tiles close to herself, her own decision still not made.<p>

"Yuzu-chan?" asked Kohaku quietly, standing beside her. "…Are you okay?"

"Hai…Kohaku-chan," she said, giving her friend a soft smile.

Kohaku sighed, leaning against the wall and watching the thinning crowd. The lamplight from the restaurant reflected against her glasses. "…He never showed up, did he?" she asked.

"No, he didn't, Kohaku-chan," agreed Yuzu with a nod.

"I was so sure he'd show up and pick you," said Kohaku. "What happened?"

"I gave the wrong answer during my interview," replied Yuzu. "It wasn't the answer he wanted."

"Sou ka…" said Kohaku. "…And you're okay with that?"

"Strangely…?" asked Yuzu, smiling. "I think I am. I think…I think I'm glad that I answered honestly. That I was true to myself. Even if it was the wrong answer…I'm not going to take it back."

"You're serious, aren't you?" asked Kohaku, shaking her head. "Kami…you're honestly serious…Only you, Yuzu-chan."

"Hmm?" asked Yuzu, glancing over at her.

"You know how many girls here would have lied just to get on his good side, to get him to talk to them? I think a lot of them would give their right arms to be a seated officer in his Division," said Kohaku, shaking her head. "It's ridiculous. I really don't see the appeal. But you…you had it in the bag and you chose to tell the truth."

"Hai…"

"You don't regret it at all, do you?" asked Kohaku.

Yuzu shook her head. "Not at all," she said.

"You know something?" asked Kohaku. "…That's one of the things I respect the most about you." She sighed, taking a deep breath. "So what are you going to do now?"

She shrugged. "It's not the end of the world," she said, holding up her collection of tiles. "I'll choose something. I just need a little more time to think it over."

"Well…alright then," said Kohaku, getting back up. "I made my decision. I'm going home. See you tomorrow?"

"Hai, Kohaku-chan. See you tomorrow."

Kohaku smiled, patting Yuzu on the shoulder before slipping out of the room.

* * *

><p>The night air was cool outside of the restaurant, a flurry of pale pink petals blowing through the air with every breeze. Spring had well and truly set in, bringing with it its distinctive blooms. Karin was used to sakura blossoms signaling the start of school. She wasn't sure how she felt about it now meaning the end of it.<p>

She took a deep breath, clenching her fist and setting out after Toshiro. Karin caught him at the corner, just before he turned it. He paused, his green eyes settling on her as she made her way up to him.

"Hey," she said as she reached him, raising her hand up in greeting.

He frowned at her, before nodding once. "Hello," he said.

"Walk me home?" asked Karin.

He stared at her, then nodded.

She remembered it starting like this. Toshiro walking her home from the Academy. She remembered how they would talk like this, way back then. Maybe it would never be like that again. After all, this was the last time she would have to be walked back. By next week, she would be setting up at her new Division, and her days as a student would be over.

It wouldn't be like this again.

But maybe, if she played her cards right, it would be better.

She took a deep breath, then opened her hand, revealing the Tenth Division tile. Toshiro frowned at her, staring at it as they walked. "I wanted…to give this back to you," she said.

His face fell. "I…see…" he said slowly, picking it up. She hated the strain in his voice. Hated knowing that she caused that.

Karin shook her head. "Hear me out," she said, as he held the tile in his hands. "I don't wanna be in your Division. I don't—." She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't wanna take orders from you. And I don't want to put you in a position where you have to choose between me and a mission. You're the captain, Toshiro. You need to be a captain. You can't have someone like me on your team…and if I were in your Division, constantly being compared to you, constantly being ranked under you…I don't think I could stop myself from competing with you."

It was like breaking a dam. Once she started, the words that she had been keeping inside of her for so long started to flow, and they seemed to carry her away with the weight of them. Toshiro stared at her as she spoke, his eyes wide. He didn't say anything, waiting for her to finish.

"…I don't want that," she said. "I don't want this to turn into a rivalry." She sighed, taking in a deep breath and exhaling quickly. "…So no. Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to be your subordinate. But…"

Here was the hard part—the part that had caused her so many sleepless nights, so many weeks of thinking and thinking and wishing and wanting, taking one step forward and two steps back until she finally, by some miracle, arrived at this conclusion. Even now, she still wasn't sure of it. Even now, she was still afraid. But she knew she couldn't delay it any longer.

If Yuzu could face her fears and take Aoyagi Miyako down, Karin could do the same thing. She could take a deep breath and tell Toshiro how she felt about him.

"…that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you," she said slowly.

Toshiro stared. She could feel his eyes on her as she kept her own eyes stubbornly lowered to the ground, her fists clenched at her side. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute, asking the same questions over and over again. Had she said that? Why had she said that? Was she sure of it? What would he do now?

She did her best to ignore them, knowing in her head that she was sure of her answer. Knowing that she had come to a time when she realized she wanted nothing more than have Toshiro back. Knowing that it had come to a point where it just _ached_, and she realized she _missed _him…

"I'm not…" she began, filling the silence between them. "I'm not…good with my feelings. So back then…you surprised me. And…I wasn't sure for a while—for a long time, what I wanted…But I think…well, I just realized…"

She shook her head, barking out a short laugh in spite of herself. "Damn…" she said. "I'm terrible at this, aren't I? You…you've got seriously strange taste in girls." She managed a weak laugh, staring down at her hands. "I guess…what I'm trying to say is…"

"Karin…" said Toshiro quietly, interrupting her. His hand landed on her wrist, and Karin froze at the contact, looking up at him.

His touch was gentle, his fingers warm. And his eyes were green…so brilliantly green.

"…I know," he said quietly.

And then he was kissing her. His mouth was warm on hers, and in the back of Karin's mind, she registered that it was graduation week, that they were standing in the middle of one of the major thoroughfares through Soul Society, and even though it wasn't crowded right now, someone was probably going to see them. But she didn't care. Her hand went up, her fingers lightly brushing against his cheek as she leaned into the kiss, her eyes closed. Toshiro's hands wrapped around her waist, and it was warm…so warm…and her heart was beating way too fast, and everything in that moment just felt…right.

Suddenly, she wasn't unsure anymore. Suddenly, she knew what she wanted. She knew where she wanted this to go.

It could go anywhere. Anywhere in the world. As long as he was walking her there.

He pulled away, and they stared at each other for a long moment.

"…I missed you," Toshiro finally admitted.

"I did too…" she said softly. "I'm sorry."

"So am I…"

They looked at each other for a moment longer. Then he kissed her again, and all was suddenly right with the world.

* * *

><p>Within an hour, the restaurant was almost completely empty, a single lamp casting a warm glow over the empty room. The Academy students had long since left, and the single box that held all of their choices would remain until tomorrow morning, where it would be collected and sorted for graduation.<p>

Kurosaki Yuzu sat on the steps of the restaurant, her own set of five tiles spread out in front of her. The youngest twin was the only Academy student left. Her hands drifted over the tiles again. The tiles from the Third, Tenth, and Thirteenth had been set aside, leaving only the Fourth and the Ninth in front of her.

She reached for the tile from the Fourth, picking it up and turning it over in her hand.

Unohana-taicho had spoken highly of her earlier, when they talked. She had offered to give Yuzu a higher seat than twentieth, because she didn't need to be trained in basic first aid.

How could anybody turn down such an opportunity? She _liked _to heal. She liked kidou. It was perfect for her.

She sighed, then nodded once, her expression growing resolute as she reached for her pen. Yuzu picked it up, pressing on one end and taking a deep breath as she prepared to write her name on the tile.

"…You would be wasted in the Fourth Division."

The voice made her jump, and she almost dropped the pen. She turned her head, her eyes widening. Kuchiki Byakuya stood in the middle of the path leading up to the restaurant, his expression impassive and his gray eyes cool as he watched her. He was dressed in his black shihakusho and white haori, his scarf around his neck. Yuzu met his eyes for a moment before she turned her head, looking back at the tile.

"What choice do I have?" she asked, forgoing her usual greeting. She had a feeling their lessons would be over now anyway.

Byakuya frowned, taking a few steps forward. He leaned over slightly, just enough so that he could see the tiles she had set aside. The Kuchiki head made a vague gesture in their direction.

"These do not appeal to you?" he asked.

Yuzu smiled sadly, sitting back on her heels. She reached for the tile from the Third Division, pushing it aside. "My brother's friend," she said. She did the same with the tile from the Tenth Division. "My sister's friend." Finally, she touched the tile from the Thirteenth. "My brother's girlfriend." She shook her head. "I don't think I'd be happy in a Division if I had to wonder all the time whether or not they chose me for me or because they felt some loyalty to my family…"

"And Hisagi-fukutaicho's offer?" asked Byakuya.

"…I considered it," said Yuzu. She gathered up her tiles, getting to her feet. It felt odd—Byakuya being the only one standing. "…Hisagi-fukutaicho offered because he liked my writing. But…I was thinking about it, and I realized that there's a world of difference between writing for a magazine and producing it. Besides…"

She smiled, holding the tile from the Fourth Division. "It's important work. It's work I'm capable of doing. Unohana-taicho offered me this because of my skills. So…why shouldn't I take it?"

"Is that what you want out of your shinigami career?" asked Byakuya, frowning at her. "To be a healer? It is a noble career, surely one you show aptitude for, but you can be more than that."

"It's something I can do…" said Yuzu, taking a deep breath. "It's the best option I have."

"…There are always other options."

Byakuya frowned, opening his hand and holding a small tile out to her. Yuzu's eyes widened as she reached for it. It was a small wooden tile, about the size of her thumbnail. The wood felt smooth beneath her fingertips. Burned onto one side was the image of the Sixth Division's camellia flower.

"The camellia…" he said quietly. "…stands for noble reason," His eyes met hers, and in that moment, Yuzu saw something there that she hadn't seen before. It was approval and acknowledgment, but it was also more than those. It was acceptance. "I do not offer it lightly. I am giving you a chance to show me the rightness of your words. There are many talented healers. There are fewer men of noble character."

"Consider…"

He left the tile in her hands, turning and walking away.

Yuzu stared after him, her breath catching in her throat as he slowly made his way down the empty road.

Her hands curled tightly around the tile, as she gripped it to her chest like a lifeline.

* * *

><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Note on Pairing: <strong>I'm handling the Yuzu pairing a little differently, because of the natures of the characters. As Karin pointed out, Yuzu knows what she feels, she doesn't really have that same uncertainty that Karin has. So, IchiRuki was kind of "I didn't realize I wanted this." HitsuKarin is "I don't know what I want". This pairing is more of "I want what I can't have." It's also going to have a sweeter tone than the other two pairings.

And yes, as far as Yuzu is concerned, it's started. And yes, that moment above was a pivotal scene.

P.S: I had Fall Into Me by Hey Monday in my head as I was writing that part of this chapter. Feel free to go check it out. The mood of the song is a little too upbeat to work as background music for that scene, but the lyrics are perfect. ^^


	38. Full circle

**A/N:** Here is the last chapter of Phases of the Moon. It's been a wild ride, and I'm really grateful to everyone who carried me through. This one's dedicated to all of you! Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks again!

And yes, to all the helpful reviewers, I did mean shogi. Thanks.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. At all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 38: Full circle<strong>

* * *

><p>The captain of the Fifth Division tugged on his sleeveless white haori, glancing at the clock. He had about an hour before the graduation, plenty of time to get dressed, get there, and wish his sisters luck before he had to get up on stage and play the part of a captain. Hinamori was already opening up rooms for the two new seated officers the Fifth would get. A lot of the seated officer quarters had gone unused after the Winter War, but it looked like they were finally getting things back to normal.<p>

Well…a normal that had Ichigo at its head. Which wasn't really a normal at all.

He glanced once at the mirror to make sure that there wasn't anything glaringly obvious that he had to deal with, then remembered he had left some paperwork in his office. He could pass it to Yamamoto or Sasakibe at the graduation. One or the other was always there, even though the First Division very rarely took seated officers straight out of the Academy.

He frowned, opening the sliding door to his office and making his way to his desk. As he opened his desk drawer in search of the papers, he froze, his eyes narrowing as he felt a familiar reiatsu coming from behind him.

"Yo, Kurosaki Ichigo."

His fingers closed tightly around the papers and he straightened up, placing them on the desk and looking behind him. Grimmjow sat curled up in the windowsill, the window open behind him. He held his zanpakuto close to himself, a grin on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Ichigo.

"Play nice," said Grimmjow, giving him a grin that bared his teeth. "The little brat wants me to give you a message."

"_Nel _sent you here?" Of all the Arrancar Nel could send, it had to be Grimmjow. In Soul Society.

"She's a little tied up," said Grimmjow with a shrug. He glanced around him, as if considering the room they were in. "So this was that bastard's office, huh?"

"It's not Aizen's office," said Ichigo hotly, folding his arms. "It's mine and I still want to know why there's an Espada in it."

"I said it, didn't I?" asked Grimmjow. "I've got a message."

"So give it to me."

"Nel, Harribel, and I checked out this place in Hueco Mundo, where we had been getting strange reiatsu signatures. You know after all these years, Szayel's old computers still work like a charm? Anyway, we got there, and we found evidence that Arrancar had been living there. But the place was deserted. No sign of them."

Ichigo frowned. _That _wasn't good…

"You know where they went?" he asked, leaning against his desk and thinking about it.

Grimmjow shook his head. "We looked, but we can't find them. No funny reiatsu blips either." He shrugged. "We'll keep an eye out, but they're pretty much gone, as far as we know."

"I don't like it," said Ichigo.

"Smells like a rat," agreed the Arrancar, nodding. "Lot like the same rat that used to sit at that desk."

"Aizen's underground," said Ichigo. "_Way _underground. He won't be coming out for a long time."

Grimmjow snorted. "If you think being in prison can stop him, we're not thinking of the same guy. You know how his mind works."

"Aa…" said Ichigo quietly. "I do…"

A knock came at the door. "Taicho?" asked Hinamori. "You're going to be late for the graduation."

"One sec, Hinamori," said Ichigo with a frown, turning towards it. "I'll be there in a minute."

He glanced back at the window towards Grimmjow, but the Espada was gone.

* * *

><p>Ichigo stood on the graduation stage between Byakuya and Unohana, the twelve captains and one vice-captain forming a loose half-circle. He had been to five of these events since becoming a captain, and thought that he was getting used to them by now, but this one was different. This was special.<p>

He could see his sisters in the audience, standing with the rest of the officer class. They were dressed in their black shihakushos for the first time, their zanpakutos belted to their waists. He caught sight of Karin adjusting her robe when she thought nobody was looking, and of Yuzu self-consciously tugging at her clothes, but they looked like shinigami now.

They _were _shinigami now, and he was proud of them. A little worried—they would be seated officers right after graduation—but still proud.

He looked over into the audience at Isshin's grinning face, sighing and rolling his eyes as Isshin pulled a huge camera seemingly out of nowhere.

_They did good, old man..._he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly as Onabara-sensei rose to his feet and walked over to the podium.

"Now presenting," he said. "The graduating officer class."

The rank-and-file had graduated earlier. Captains were not required to be present at that graduation. But they had to be here for this one, to officially recognize their new officers. He took a deep breath, waiting for Onabara-sensei to start reading names, Divisions, and seat assignments.

"Aikawa Satoshi," he read. "…Seventh Division, twentieth seat."

A young shinigami with glasses stepped up on the stage, walking over to Komamura and bowing deeply. Komamura bowed back, not as deeply, and the crowd applauded as Aikawa made his way to his seat.

"Ankoujin Masaryu," read Onabara-sensei. "…Fifth Division, twentieth seat."

Some of the captains turned their heads to look at him, the crowd falling silent for a moment. Ichigo grinned, watching as Masa solemnly made his way up the stage, coming to stand in front of him. He could still remember the conversation he and Masa had had, the night of the coming of age ceremony. He had been standing outside looking over his tiles, thinking about all of the high ranks he had been offered—ranks as high as sixteenth seat for some Divisions, when Ichigo had offered him a Fifth Division tile.

"…_Are you doing this because you feel like you have to be responsible for me?" he had asked. _

"_No. I'm doing this so I can give you a choice. You can use your name and take those high ranks, or you can join the Fifth and work your way from the ground up yourself." _

Masa reached him, bowing politely. Instead of bowing back, Ichigo put his hand on Masa's shoulder, causing him to look up.

Ichigo grinned at his cousin. Masa stared at him for a moment, before smiling back. They clasped hands briefly, and Masa made his way back to his seat.

"Iwase Kohaku," Onabara read after a few more students had taken their place. "Third Division, twentieth seat."

Kohaku rose to her feet, offering Renji a polite bow and a grin. Renji responded with a bow of his own, and the two of them nodded at each other as Kohaku made her way back to her seat. In the audience, Ichigo saw Yuzu clapping the hardest. He held his breath. They were almost to the 'ku''s now.

"Kurosaki Karin…" read Onabara-sensei, after what felt like forever.

"Eleventh Division, twentieth seat."

Ichigo sighed, watching as Karin made her way up the stage. He gave her a look as she passed him, raising an eyebrow. He had been hoping for something different, but really, now that he thought about it, it did kind of fit. He watched with a frown as she and Toshiro exchanged a glance that had a hidden meaning behind it, before stopping in front of Kenpachi.

Karin bowed slightly. Kenpachi for the most part just stared and grinned.

"Ready to go at it?" he asked.

Karin shrugged. "Not afraid," she said.

Yachiru poked her head out from over Kenpachi's shoulder, giggling.

"Yay!" she said. "Ka-chan's joining us! See you later, Ka-chan!"

Karin nodded, making her way back down the other side of the stage. Onabara waited until she was gone before reading the next name.

"Kurosaki Yuzu…" he began.

Ichigo stared at his other sister, waiting with bated breath.

"…Sixth Division," Onabara-sensei finished. "Twentieth seat."

Ichigo's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He whirled around, facing Byakuya. Wait—when?—how?—But—Byakuya wasn't even _at _the ceremony!

The Sixth Division captain said nothing in response to Ichigo's reaction. He simply had his eyes closed for a moment, his usual cool expression on his face. Yuzu came up the stage and passed Ichigo, giving her brother a small, hidden smile before coming to stand in front of Byakuya. The officer's class went quiet. Behind them, Ichigo saw Masa and Karin staring in open shock with wide eyes, and Kohaku grinning like a maniac.

Yuzu placed her hands at her sides, bowing formally in front of Byakuya.

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," she said, a smile on her face. _Please take care of me._

Byakuya leaned forward slightly, a higher bow than Yuzu's.

"Work hard," he said in response.

The two of them straightened up, and Yuzu smiled, walking back to her seat.

* * *

><p>"Oi," said Ichigo once the ceremony was over. He frowned at his youngest sister, the two of them walking outside together. "You sure about that?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the graduation hall.<p>

Yuzu smiled. "Hai, Ichi-nii," she said, nodding.

Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Alright. You'll be next door. Yell or something if he's being too harsh. I'll sort things out."

Yuzu's smile widened. "I will," she promised.

The two of them stopped as they rounded the corner, staring at their family. Isshin was obviously trying to get everyone to pose for a picture, but Karin and Masaryu stood around, staring off in different directions and scowling. Clearly they had both just gotten into some sort of argument. Karin had her arms folded and was looking somewhere in the distance, and Masaryu was rolling his eyes.

"Come on…" said Isshin, frowning and holding up the camera. "Say cheese! Come on, Karin-chan! Masa-kun!"

Yuzu grinned, running off from Ichigo's side. She got in behind them, looping one of her arms through Karin's and the other one through Masaryu's. She smiled up at the camera just as Isshin took the picture.

It was a picture of Karin and Masaryu, both with varying degrees of shock on their faces as they turned towards Yuzu, stumbling back somewhat. Yuzu stood between them, a wide grin on her face as she pulled them close together. In the background stood Ichigo, staring at them with a surprised look on his face. And just at the corner of the picture, Isshin's fingertip.

All in all, he decided, it was the perfect representation of their family.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ten years later…<strong>_

"Ka-chan! Play with me!"

Kurosaki Karin took off at a run, jumping out of the way as a young pink-haired girl landed on the ground behind her, pink reiatsu trailing behind her. Kusajishi Yachiru had grown in the past two decades, and now sported a pair of pink pigtails, tied back by hair clips with skull and crossbone shapes on them. Her zanpakuto's blade flashed through the air, and Karin pulled her arm back just in time to avoid getting cut, a line appearing in the fabric of her dark shihakusho.

"No!" she shouted as she jumped again, Yachiru's reiatsu causing the roofing tiles to splinter and crack. "For the last time! I AM NOT PLAYING WITH YOU!"

"_KA-CHAN!" _whined Yachiru, continuing to chase her.

Karin took a deep breath, landing on the roof of the nearest wall and flash stepping into the Sixth Division. Yachiru followed quickly behind her, a grin on her face as Karin tore through one of the windows, glass shattering behind her.

"Eh?" asked the room's only occupant, looking up at the glass with a confused expression on her face. Karin quickly jumped up, grabbing Yuzu by the shoulders and pointing her in the direction of the window as she crouched behind her twin.

"Ka-Karin-chan?" asked Yuzu, glancing behind her. "What's going on?"

"J-Just cover me for a minute, will you?" asked Karin, breathing hard. "The fukutaicho's being a brat."

As if in response, Yachiru landed on the floor, a grin on her face as she turned towards Yuzu, one hand on her unsheathed zanpakuto. "Hello, Yu-chan!" she said. "Will you play with me?"

Yuzu gave Yachiru an apologetic smile. "I would," she lied. "But I have a lot of work to do today."

"Oh…" Yachiru pouted, then smiled again, clasping her hands behind her back happily. "Byakkun works you too hard. He should give you a break! Ne, make Ka-chan play with me!"

"I don't think Karin-chan wants to play…" said Yuzu with a frown, glancing back at her twin. Karin shook her head fiercely. "Maybe Yachiru-chan should find someone else?"

Yachiru frowned, holding up one finger. "Ken-chan is at a captain's meeting," she said. She held up a second finger. "Two is me." A third. "Pachinko ball's off drinking…" A fourth finger. "So four is next. That means Ka-chan needs to play! That's how seats work!"

"That's _not _how seats work!" said the Eleventh Division's fourth seat, still standing behind Yuzu.

"It is when I say so!" said Yachiru, grinning. "I'm the vice-captain. I can do whatever I want besides what Ken-chan says I can't do. Right, Yu-chan?"

"Um…she does have a point there, Karin-chan…"

"Who's side are you on?"

"Shut up," said a voice from the window. Ankoujin Masaryu, third seat of the Fifth Division, frowned, folding his arms and glaring at them. "We can hear you all the way from next door."

Yachiru's eyes widened in delight. "Ah!" she said, pointing. "It's Masa-Masa!"

Masaryu blinked, pointing at himself. "Masa-Masa?" he mouthed, as Yachiru turned away, obviously interested in something else. Yuzu gave Masaryu an apologetic smile, shrugging in response.

The sliding door at the front of the division slid open. The group of four, including Yachiru, all stopped, falling silent as they turned towards it. Yachiru grinned brightly. "Byakkun!" she exclaimed, then pointed towards Yuzu. "You need to give Yu-chan a break, so she can play with me!"

Byakuya's eyes drifted over to Yuzu for a moment, a questioning frown on his face. Yuzu shook her head almost imperceptibly, her eyes wide. The Sixth Division captain turned away. "She has many important duties to perform," he said.

"Aw…" said Yachiru, pouting and folding her arms. Yuzu let out a sigh of relief.

His eyes passed over the assembled group, as if deciding whether or not it would be worth his time to kick them out. Apparently, he decided it wasn't, because his eyes landed on Yuzu again.

"Kurosaki, report," he said, walking down the hallway to his office.

"Hai, taicho!" said Yuzu with a smile, following him and leaving Karin, Yachiru, and Masa alone. As she left, she could hear the shouting start again.

"Play with me now!"

"I said no!"

"Why not?" asked Yachiru. "Give me a reason!"

There was a long pause, and then Karin sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I've got a date, alright?" she asked.

"Oh…" said Yachiru, realization dawning on her face. "With Shiro-chan, right? Okay…we can play later. I'll go after Yun-Yun. Bye bye, Byakkun! Yu-chan!"

Yuzu smiled, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward as she walked next to Byakuya, beginning her usual report on the status of the Division.

As she passed by the window, the light gleamed off of the fukutaicho armband resting on her right arm, the Sixth Division camellia etched underneath the Division symbol.

* * *

><p><strong>THE END<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Ending Song: <strong>To go with the whole anime theme, the ending song for Phases is **Yasashisa no Riyuu by Choucho**. (It's the opening song for Hyouka, and the English translation can be found on or by a quick Google search. Listen to the full song if you can, and read the English lyrics. The full song can be found on YouTube, at least at the time of posting.)

Yes, the lyrics reflect my interpretation of HitsuKarin in this story. No, I don't own it. (disclaimer) Thanks for all your support!

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Yachiru chases Karin around like Zaraki chases Ichigo. Who would have thought? XD Also, Karin being fourth seat was just something I wanted to play around with. Yumichika doesn't like four because four means death and so is an 'ugly' number. Karin has dark hair, dark eyes, a dark robe, a darkness-themed zanpakuto, and a scythe. Perfect.


	39. Author's Note

**A/N: **Okay, I lied about my break. The first chapter of **Chasing the Moon**, the sequel to ** Phases of the Moon **is now up. I might be updating a little slower now that I'm not rushing to the ending, but please enjoy anyway. Wanted to get this out there before all of you took Phases off of your alert lists.

...You can go do that now, by the way.


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